Romancing Lily Evans
by lily-james-4ever010
Summary: This story is about James Potter and Lily Evans in their seventh year of Hogwarts.
1. Hogwarts Letters

Lily Evans sat beside her friend Paige Wallace at the kitchen table, fidgeting uncomfortably and checking her watch frantically. Lily was staying with the Wallace's for the rest of the summer, because her parents were visiting with her sister Petunia's fiancé, Vernon Dursley. It was quite exciting for her, because the Wallace's were a wizarding family, and she had never experienced domestic magic before. They had had a great time together over the summer, and now they were anxiously awaiting their Hogwarts letters. Lily was hoping she would be Head Girl.

"Lily, stop pacing like that! You're making _me_ nervous," said Paige. Paige had long blonde hair and blue eyes, and she always looked perfect. Lily often wondered if she really _was_ part veela, despite her protesting. Paige had had many boyfriends over the years, Sirius Black included.

Lily smiled at her friend apologetically. "Sorry, Paige. But I really want to find out if I become Head Girl!" She paused, and flung herself onto a chair dramatically. "Oh my gosh! What if I don't even get into Hogwarts again? Oh my goodness. I've been taking it for granted, serves me right-"

Paige smiled at her friend, used to her frantic behaviour. "Lily. Calm down. I am one hundred percent certain that you will be Head Girl! Who else could it be? You always have perfect grades, and you are always kind to _everyone_, even the Slytherins."

Lily sighed. "Yes, I suppose you are right. But if it's not me, I hope it is you!"

At that moment, Paige's owl, Serena, flew in through the kitchen window, carrying two Hogwarts sealed envelopes in her beak. She landed perfectly in front of Paige. Lily jumped off her chair and quickly grabbed the letter addressed to her from the owl's beak. She ripped it open, and screamed, jumping up and down (quite girlishly). A shiny, silver badge had fallen out of her envelope, declaring her Head Girl.

"PAIGE! PAIGE! I GOT IT! I'M HEAD GIRL! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? THIS IS SO FANTASTIC!" shrieked Lily, continuing to hop around the kitchen in glee. Paige watched her friend and laughed. She knew it would be Lily to earn the title Head Girl. She quickly joined her friend and they hugged, screaming and jumping up and down together. At that moment, Paige's younger brother of fifteen, Michael, entered the kitchen, staring at them in amusement.

"_Must_ you act so girly? You woke me up, what with all your giggling and screaming. What's the occasion, anyway?" he asked.

Paige rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Michael, but Lily's just been made Head Girl!" she cried.

"Er…congratulations, Lily," said Michael, apparently still not aware of why they were making a fuss.

"You'll be the best Head Girl ever, Lily!" shrieked Paige, not able to contain her excitement. Lily giggled and continued to scream delightedly. Michael rolled his eyes and went back upstairs to his room, hoping to drown out the sound.

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"So, Prongs. What will be our first prank of the year? Are we going to flood all the bathrooms on the third floor again?" asked Sirius, jumping onto James' bed enthusiastically. He was staying with the Potters over the summer.

James grinned. "Eh, that's a bit too traditional. I was thinking about making the whole fifth floor smell like feet. What do you think?"

"Sounds perfect, except for one thing. How about we put Snivellus in the fifth floor, and put a sign on his back that says, 'smell something? It's my feet'?"

James laughed. "Sounds perfect, Padfoot. Now all we'll have to do is inform Moony and Wormtail…we'll need to research sense charms for a while, and then we'll have to practice, because of the intensity that this particular charm has to be. I mean, it will have to cover the whole floor with its stench," James grinned.

Suddenly, James' owl, Emlyn, flew into the room, and landed on the bedside cabinet, carrying two envelopes directly from Hogwarts. James and Sirius took their letters and opened them uninterestedly, as they knew that it was only a list of supplies from Hogwarts. James gasped, gazing at something in his hand.

"Oi, Prongs, what's tha-BLOODY HELL! HEAD BOY!"

Sirius stared up at James, his face full of alarm. James just grinned at him and nodded, equally as shocked. James nervously ruffled his hair.

"Well, Prongs. Head boy. I knew you were smart, but _head boy_? Dumbledore's gone nutters! Being Head Boy takes _maturity_!"

James glared at Sirius. "Thanks, Padfoot. That's really encouraging."

James laughed. "I'll bet Evans is Head Girl. I wonder how that will go."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Prongs. Stop right there before you start fanaticizing about her for hours on end. I do NOT want to hear, 'ever noticed how green her eyes are?' or 'she is so damn beautiful, you know that?'"

"Shut it."

Suddenly, Sirius' eyes lit up. "HEY! YOU'RE HEAD BOY! THIS IS GREAT! No more detentions for me! And you can go anywhere in the castle you please now! All you have to say is 'Head Boy duties, coming through!' Brilliant!"

"That is called taking advantage of your position, Padfoot."

"So? Oi, Prongs! Are you _maturing_?"

James laughed. "'Course not, Padfoot. I will always be James Potter, infamous marauder."


	2. Perfect Prefects and Voldemort

"LILY! PAIGE!" Whitney Carson, Lily's other best friend, ran over to them, and hugged them immediately. They were on platform nine and three quarters, weaving their way through the crowd, trying to get to the Hogwarts Express.

"Whitney! How was your summer?" asked Lily, smiling. She had missed her wild, outgoing friend.

"Well, it was alright, I suppose. Nothing special. And yours?"

"I had loads of fun with Paige. It was very kind of her family to have me," Lily said politely.

"I'll bet you're happy to be back at school. I am sure Potter is around here somewhere, looking for you. We'd better hurry inside and get a compartment before he finds you," grinned Whitney. She had brown, wavy hair, and brown eyes. She was extremely impatient, and she had a huge temper, which often collided with Lily's. Paige was often the one to keep the peace between them.

"Well, hold on just a moment, Whit. My parents came to the platform to see me off, they must be around here somewhere," said Lily, craning her neck to look around the crowd. At last she found them, and quickly walked over to them.

"Mum! Dad! Petunia! Thanks for seeing me off! I'd be horribly homesick if I never got to see you before I left!"

"It's no problem, Lilypops, but we'd best hurry. Petunia isn't doing that well here," said Lily's mum, gesturing towards Petunia. Petunia was hiding behind her father, wide-eyed and pale. Lily suppressed a laugh.

"Well, be careful! You-know-who is out and about, you know, and he _is_ going after muggle-born families. Just be aware of everything! Keep up with wizarding news, and don't go out after dark! He's terribly dangerous! Honestly, this is no joke! You _must_ be careful!" said Lily with concern.

Her father waved his hand, as if to wipe away Lily's remark. "Lilysicles, we'll be careful! Honest! I'll protect mum and Petunia! Nothing can stop me, not even this you-know-who gentleman."

Lily sighed. Apparently her parents underestimated Voldemort's power. "Alright. Just…do _try_ to stay off his list!" She quickly hugged her parents and made her way to the train with Whitney and Paige. They quickly found a compartment and settled inside.

"Lily! Head Girl! That's wonderful! I wonder who Head Boy is…I hope it is someone good looking, so you can date them, Lily," giggled Whitney. She absolutely _loved_ boys.

Lily laughed. "I hope so too. I doubt they would date me, though, seeing as Potter would probably hex them." She suddenly sat up. "THAT'S RIGHT! I'M HEAD GIRL! I'VE COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN! I have to go to the Head's compartment immediately!" She ran out of the compartment and made her way down the train to the Head's compartment. She stopped in front of the door, wondering who the Head Boy would be, hoping it was someone she would like. She opened the door, and gasped. Inside was none other than _James Potter_.

"POTTER? What are _you_ doing here? This is the heads compartment. I'm afraid you will have to find another compartment."

James grinned. "Oh, but Evans. I'm _Head Boy_. And, as you said, this _is _the head's compartment." He was highly amused by the look of shock on her face.

"You? H-Head Boy? How? Why? Is this _possible_?" she stuttered.

James laughed. "Yes, it is quite possible, my little Lilybear."

Lily scowled at James. "Potter! Do _not_ call me that ever again!"

"Fine. Is Mrs. Potter alright then?"

"POTTER!"

James laughed. It was always fun to annoy Lily.

Lily sighed. "Well, I'll just go tell the prefects what their duties are. If you want, you can stay in here. It would be much better for me that way, anyhow."

"That is quite alright, Evans. I'll accompany you. Please, there is no need to beg."

Lily scowled and marched out of the room, making her way to the prefect's compartment. James followed closely behind her.

"Hello, students!" said Lily, with a warm smile. "Welcome back to Hogwarts. I am Lily Evans, Head Girl, and this is James Potter, unfortunately Head Boy. Now, as prefects, you will take on a lot of responsibility. You will have to do rounds with a fellow prefect a few nights a week, and there will be prefect meetings once every other week. You _must_ take your duties as prefect seriously! Remember-"

"Alright, enough of that crap, Evans," said James, ruffling his hair. "As prefects, you have _power_. You dominate most of Hogwarts. You have _power over them, _see? So really, if you want to hex someone, go ahead! It's not like they have anyone to tell. I mean, they'd have to tell _you_ that you'd hexed them…well, I suppose they could tell me as well, but I really couldn't give a damn if you hexed someone-"

"POTTER! ENOUGH! I do_ not_ want you rubbing off on these poor students! Alright, everyone, listen to _me_, not him. You cannot go running off and hex whoever you please! You will surely get your badge taken away from you if you do that! And you do _not_ have power over them! You are supposed to _protect_ the rest of the student body, not rule them! Remember, change two letters around in the word prefect, and you've got the word _perfect_, which is what I expect you to be. Make Dumbledore proud he chose you!"

James rolled his eyes. "Did you rehearse that, Evans?"

Lily scowled at him, and turned to face the prefects once more. "Well, I suppose we are done for today. Please patrol the train for a bit, and then you can run along to see your friends in your own compartments."

The prefects quickly ran out of the room, nearly knocking each other over to get out of the compartment.

James smirked. "I suppose your little speech was not too popular," he said.

Lily glared at him, and marched out of the compartment, making her way back to her old compartment. She opened the door and scowled. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were sitting with her friends. She marched over to the window, and sat beside Paige. James also entered the compartment, grinning at her, and sat beside Sirius.

"Hey, Prongs! How are Head Boy duties?" asked Lupin.

James laughed. "I could hardly get a word in. Evans here was talking up a storm. 'Remember, change two letters around in the word prefect, and you've got the word perfect!'" he said, mocking Lily's voice. Lily glared at him. "Oi, Evans! Now is as good a time as ever! Will you go out with me?"

"NEVER! NOT IF YOU WERE THE LAST MAN ON EARTH!"

James let out a low whistle. "Ok then. How about those Chudley Cannons?" he said, changing the subject.

Sirius grinned. "I doubt the ladies know much about quidditch, Prongs," he said, winking at them flirtatiously.

Paige giggled. "You're right, Sirius. We don't know that much about quidditch."

"Is everyone's family safe? What with you-know-who running about…" Lily asked with true concern. Everyone nodded.

"It sounds to me like Voldemort's getting stronger," said James. "It won't be long until he kills people in the daylight."

Lily gasped. "You-you said his name!"

James looked at her in surprise. "You don't? Honestly, this whole 'you-know-who' thing is so stupid. Fear in the name only creates fear in the thing itself. And why would you want to be afraid of Voldemort? The reason he's killing people is because _he's_ afraid."

Lily rolled her eyes. "And I suppose you think you could take on you-know-who all on your own."

"His name is _Voldemort_, and no, I'm not that conceited! I'd need help taking him on! But soon as I graduate, I'm going to join the rest of the wizards that are fighting him. I know it's my fate. I can feel it."

Lily sighed. She had no idea how anybody could be so stupid, to believe that they could take on you-know-who, the most evil wizard the world had ever known. She remained silent for the rest of the trip to Hogwarts, looking out the window and thinking about the year ahead of her.


	3. gurglesnout

Lily, Paige, and Whitney walked into the Great Hall. Lily sighed. She was finally back home. They took their seats at Gryffindor table. James absolutely _insisted_ on sitting next to Lily, forcing Whitney to move, and sit between Remus and Sirius. Lily groaned. Hopefully this was just a one-time thing, and he wouldn't sit next to her at every meal. Paige suddenly jabbed her arm.

"Lily! There's Andrew Gates! Look! He's staring at you! Lucky! He's so hot!" It was true. Andrew Gates was a tall, blonde haired, blue eyed Hufflepuff, who was admired by many. He waved at Lily, and winked. Lily, flustered, _attempted_ to wave back, but only succeeded in knocking her goblet over, to the laughter of Paige. James stared between Lily and Andrew as if it were a tennis match, not quite understanding what was going on.

"Do you really think he likes me, Paige?" Lily giggled, blushing.

Paige smiled. "Of _course_ he does! He just waved and winked to you! You need to flirt, Lily! You can start tomorrow when classes start…don't give me that look! I know how well you flirt when you want to!" James looked at Paige and scowled.

Lily grinned. "Fine! I guess I'll just say hello tomorrow…something small, you know, to start out with…how many seconds should I keep eye contact? Which smile should I use?" That was just like Lily, always overanalyzing things.

Paige groaned. "LILY! Just be yourself, alright?"

At that moment, Professor McGonagall had led all the first years into the Great Hall, and the Sorting began. Lily clapped politely for each student, but soon got bored, and mentally willed the Sorting Hat to go faster. At last, the last student (Zellith) has been sorted (into Hufflepuff), and everyone got to eat.

"Ongs! Pass the uddin!" said Sirius between mouthfuls of food. Lily groaned and felt quite sick looking at Sirius shoving random food into his mouth. James looked at her and grinned. He quickly covered her eyes with his hand.

"Trust me, Evans. You don't want to see this. And this is just stage one for Padfoot!"

"POTTER! GET YOUR DAMN HAND OFF MY EYES! NOW! I ORDER YOU! I'M HEAD GIRL, YOU KNOW!" screamed Lily, kicking and shoving, in an attempt to get James' hand off her face.

James laughed. "But _I_ am Head Boy. So I think I can overrule your demands."

"I'M WARNING YOU!"

"Oh no! I'm scared now! What is good little Evans going to do to me? Yell at me some more?"

"POTTER! GET YOUR HAND OF MY FACE RIGHT THIS SECOND OR I'LL FILE FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT!" Lily screeched. James quickly lifted his hand off of her eyes, surprised.

"But…that's not…is it? It can't be sexual harassment! Just covering your eyes!" he stuttered.

Lily smiled. "You never know, Potter," she said.

Lily and James quickly finished their supper and made their way to the Head's common room. Dumbledore had given them the password in their Hogwarts acceptance letters.

"gurglesnout," said James to the portrait of a ballerina dancer. The portrait immediately swung open and let them inside.

Lily gasped. The common room had a fuzzy blue carpet with sky blue walls. Luxurious velvet couches were scattered here and there, and there was a beautiful, large fireplace. Lily ran to see what was behind one of the doors, and cried in delight. The bathroom had shiny, clean marble tile floors and a shiny, light silver color on the walls. There was a huge bathtub in the center, will dozens of different valves, and there was a whole wall of showers to the left of the bath. To the right of the bath were dozens of sinks, each one with a different color valve. Lily curiously walked over to them, and pulled all of the valves. Each sink was instantly filled with a different color (and different scent) of water. Lily quickly closed all the valves and went back into the common room, where James was still sitting by the fire, amazed.

"Potter? We'd best go to our rooms now, get some sleep."

He looked up at her, noticing her for the first time. His mind seemed to be elsewhere. "Oh yeah. Sure. Right. Well, uh…night, Evans. Goodnight kiss, perhaps?" he asked, getting back to his former self.

Lily smiled before she could stop herself. "No, Potter! Now goodnight!" She walked into what she assumed was her bedroom, and James walked into his.

Lily's bedroom was beautiful. It had deep crimson walls, and a shaggy white carpet. It was rather large – with a vanity, a walk-in closet, a large four-poster bed, and a mysterious window across from her bed. She curiously walked over to it. Suddenly, someone pulled back the curtains on the other side.

"EVANS! SURPRISE!" shouted James, laughing. Lily screamed, then scowled.

"GOODNIGHT, POTTER!" she shrieked, slamming her curtains shut. She wandered over to her bed, and fell asleep, dreaming about her parents.


	4. healthy confidence

"Lily? Have you noticed how much James has changed over the summer?" asked Paige, staring at him absentmindedly, instead of writing notes.

"How so, Paige?" asked Lily, scribbling away about eighteenth century goblin riots.

"Well, he's gotten quite a bit taller, for one thing…and his hair is completely different. It makes him look much older. It used to make him look like he was still a first year. He seems to have a new confidence about him, too-"

"A _new_ confidence?"

"A better confidence, I mean. There are two types of confidence, you know. The cocky kind, and the good, healthy kind. I think James has healthy confidence now. Don't you just _love_ his hair?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "No, I do _not_ love his hair. James Potter is the least attractive man on earth! Not to mention a stuck up prat…"

"Lily! Can't you just start over with him? _Please_? He's so attractive now…well, he was always attractive. He's _more_ attractive than before, I should say…"

"Paige! Don't judge on appearances!"

"Lily! I'm seventeen, and I'm a girl. What do you expect?"

"I expect you to be more respectful."

"Are you two talking about James?" giggled Whitney, suddenly interested in the conversation, as it was about boys.

"We _were_. But we are no longer talking about him," said Lily, turning away from them dramatically, continuing to write notes.

"He's hot."

"_Whitney!_" gasped Lily, astonished at her bluntness.

"What? It's true, you know…and think, you get to spend time with him, all alone, for hours! Lucky."

"No, I am _not_ lucky! I wonder how Potter got to be Head Boy in the first place."

"Probably because the professors think he's hot as well."

"_Whitney!_ One more crude remark-"

"Oh, come off it, Lily. He's smarter than you think. He _has_ to be smart to think of all those pranks. And he's respectful – let me finish!" Paige added as Lily opened her mouth to protest. "He only hexes people because they are cruel to you!"

Lily opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it, realizing that she had nothing to say to this comment, because it was true. She scowled, but remained silent. Paige gave her a triumphant look.

"You have nothing to say to that, Lily?" Lily glared at her. "AHA! You know it's true!"

Lily scowled, gathered up her things, and stomped to the door of the classroom, seeing as class had just ended. Just as she was reaching the door, James stepped right in front of her, causing her to stop abruptly. She fell onto James, losing her balance. She wrapped her arms around his neck so she wouldn't fall. James grabbed her by the waist, to steady her.

"Erm…alright, Evans? Sorry about that. Listen, McGonagall wants to see us in her office as soon as possible. I reckon we should go now, before lunch."

Lily, just realizing her arms were still wrapped around James' neck, immediately let go of James, taking a few steps back. She was surprised James hadn't made an arrogant remark about how she had grabbed him.

"Alright, Potter. Let's go…FOUR FEET AWAY FROM ME AT ALL TIMES!" She added, as James took a few steps closer to her. He reluctantly followed her orders, and they made their way to McGonagall's office together.


	5. revenge with gobstones

"Mr. Potter, Miss Evans, thank for you for meeting with me this afternoon. I would like to take this time to congratulate you both for being made Head Boy and Girl. It is not often that both the Head Boy and Head Girl are in the same house. But I digress. I brought you here to discuss the Commencement Ball. It is a tradition to have this ball each year in late September or early October, to celebrate the year ahead. It is open to fifth years and up. Also, it is tradition for the Head Boy and Head Girl to go to the ball together." James grinned ecstatically, and Lily sat up from her chair indignantly.

"WHAT? WITH HIM? Professor! Please! I mean…_look at him_!" James glared at Lily indignantly.

"_Excuse me_? _What_, exactly, is wrong with my appearance? I don't think there is anything wrong…I mean, obviously loads of girls think love my appearance," he smirked.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Potter, nothing is wrong with how you look. You look…fine, alright? Moving on. Professor! Can you see now what I have to put up with? I have to deal with…with…_this_ all day long! One can hardly bear it, being with Potter all day! And you are asking me to _attend a social event_ with him? Preposterous! Think of what it will do to my social reputation! Boys will think I'm off-limits, and…sorry, Professor. You don't really want to hear about that, do you? But still! Can't we just break tradition just this _once_?"

McGonagall stood up, and if you looked closely enough, you could just see a slight bit of a smile spreading across her lips. "No, Miss Evans! Rules are rules! You know that! And I am _not_ about to be the first one in centuries to break a tradition! Absolutely _not_!"

Lily groaned. "Do I have to stay with _him_ _all night_?" she asked through gritted teeth.

McGonagall pursed her lips, successfully hiding her smile. "Yes, Miss Evans. You must stay with Mr. Potter all night. Of course, the occasional dance with another young man will not hurt…" Lily grinned. As long as she was able to _dance_ with other boys, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. As long as she wouldn't have to dance with Potter, she would be alright. She sighed, trying to adjust to this new piece of information.

"There _is_ another tradition that will apply to you two," said McGonagall, now unable to hide her smile. Lily's expression of relief instantly slid off her face.

"_What tradition_?" asked Lily suspiciously, getting nervous. James looked up at McGonagall with amusement in his eyes.

"The Head Girl and the Head Boy must dance together for the first three songs. For the first song, you two will be alone on the dance floor. Then, for the second song, prefects will join you. Lastly, in the third song, faculty will join you and the prefects on the dance floor."

James grinned at this new piece of information. He now had a reasonable excuse for being extremely close to Lily. _And_ she couldn't file for sexual harassment.

Lily gasped. She was going to be close to _Potter_ for approximately fifteen minutes. _And_ she had to dance with him in front of the whole school – just her and James on the dance floor. She turned pale.

"PROFESSOR! I don't know how to dance! Not in public, anyway! How am I – how are we? We'll make fools of ourselves! I can't believe I never took lessons-" James laughed at her anxiousness.

"Relax, Miss Evans. I will privately teach you two to dance, do not worry. You will _not_ make fools of Gryffindor House. Certainly not," McGonagall sniffed. "Now on you go, or you will miss lunch completely. You will have your first dance lessons in two days, six o'clock sharp, my classroom."

James and Lily quickly walked out of the office, and made their way to lunch.

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"YOU GET TO DANCE WITH JAMES? FOR FIFTEEN WHOLE MINUTES!" Whitney exclaimed. "You are SO lucky, Lily!"

Lily collapsed onto her bed, and groaned. "No, I am not. He'll probably step on my feet, or something."

Paige rolled her eyes. "James? Please. He's the most charming, sweet, sensitive, romantic, understanding man in seventh year! He's _perfect_," she sighed.

Lily snorted. "Wow. You used a lot of adjectives! Do you like him or something, Paige?"

Paige snapped out of her trance. "What? NO! 'Course not!"

"This is perfect. Now Andrew probably thinks I like Potter! We'll never get together," moaned Lily, rolling over on her back, hugging a pillow.

"Don't worry, Lily. If he's the Andrew I've heard about, he'll understand," reassured Whitney.

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"You and Evans? On a _date_? Really, Prongs?" asked Sirius giddily.

"Well, it's sort of necessary, and Evans is forced to do it…but I'm excited about it nonetheless," said James, staring into space in the common room, thinking about Lily.

"But Prongs! You can't _dance_! It's…it's just not _you_!" said Remus, dazed. James threw a chocolate frog at him.

"Shut it, Moony. I'll learn. And I'll sweep Evans off her feet."

Peter, Sirius, and Remus all snorted with laughter, nearly falling off their chairs. James got revenge by pelting gobstones at them repeatedly, making them smell horribly.

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Dear Journal,

You will never believe it. I have to GO TO THE BALL WITH POTTER! It's my worse nightmare. I have to dance with him for three songs, as well! Paige and Whitney are teasing me about it. I don't think I will ever live it down. I'm only going to the ball with Potter because its tradition, and I have to! Otherwise, I would _never_ attend the ball with him! I'd much rather go with Andrew Gates, that cute Hufflepuff in our year. I think he likes me back, too. I just hope Potter doesn't go insane on him and start randomly hurting him. Potter's crazy like that. Imagine. Me and Potter, out on the dance floor, everyone staring at us! On top of that, I have to have _dance lessons_ with him!

Today, after History of Magic, as I was walking towards the door, Potter stopped right in front of me. Naturally, I started flying through the air, and grabbed the first thing I found – Potter's neck. He grabbed my waist to steady me. It was mortifying. He had this smirk on his face, like "ha! I told you that one day you would finally like me!" It was disgusting. I hate that smirk. Also in History of Magic today, Paige and Whitney started gushing over Potter. It was horrible! They kept saying he was so sweet and good looking! Ok, I have to admit, Potter _is_ hot, but EW! Imagine ever _liking_ Potter! It was as if Paige and Whitney had rehearsed what they were going to say. Like they wanted to get us together. If they ever do that, I'll kill them. I swear I will.

Nothing else really eventful today…I successfully turned Paige into a penguin in transfiguration today. It was quite fun. In charms we reviewed cheering spells, and Potter accidentally overdosed Sirius. He ran around the room hugging everyone. He even tried to snog Paige. Then he started giggling uncontrollably. It was very amusing. I think that perhaps Potter did it on purpose, to put on a show, if you will.

No word from Mum and Dad. I hope they're alright. They didn't seem to take me seriously at King's Cross when I warned them about Voldemort. I hope they are careful and safe. I dunno what I would do if I didn't have them around. Life just…wouldn't exist anymore.

Ugh. Whitney wants to go downstairs now and spy on the "marauders." Joy. I'll write more later, promise.

Lily Evans


	6. Two Well Kept Secrets

"One, two, three. One, two, three…" said Professor McGonagall, clapping her hands in time to the music and the beat. James and Lily were having quite a hard time. They would put their hands in the wrong places, or they would completely fall over. James had already broken his glasses twice from falling over (he quickly repaired them with _repairo_). Lily's hair was now all messed up, from moving around so much. Her cheeks were flushed. She wasn't used to failing at something, and failing in front of _Potter_ was particularly frustrating.

"OUCH! POTTER! You've stepped on my foot again! Nice job," Lily said sarcastically, hopping around on one foot.

James snorted. "I guess we're even, then. After all the times you've stepped on _my_ feet!"

"At least I am making an _effort_ at this, Potter. You could obviously care less if we make fools of ourselves in front of everyone."

"I don't care what people say as long as I'm with you, Evans," James grinned, taking a stab at the "flattering approach," as Sirius had called it the night before.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Nice try, Potter. Let's just…keep practicing, alright? And do _try_ not to step on my feet, alright?"

"I could say the same to you, Evans," James replied, clutching her waist once more. Unfortunately for him, McGonagall was supervising, so he couldn't get any closer to Lily than two feet. Lily reluctantly wrapped her arms around his shoulders, grimacing, as if he was carrying a contagious virus.

"Miss Evans! _Please_ wipe that disgusted look off your face, and be _respectful_! You will NOT make fools of Gryffindor House." Lily sighed, trying her best to look happy. Actually, she _was_ quite a bit happy, in James' arms. She had no clue why…perhaps Paige had overdosed her on the cheering charms they had reviewed again earlier that day.

"Yeah, Evans. I'm not _that_ gross, am I?" James grinned. Lily rolled her eyes, scowling. She was counting down the minutes to 7:00, when their first lesson ended. It was now 6:55. _Only five more minutes! YES!_ She thought.

"POSTURE! Imagine a string is tied to your back, and it is pulling you up! Very well done, Mr. Potter! You could take a few tips from him, Miss Evans. HEAD UP, MISS EVANS! Mr. Potter, wipe that smirk off your face. It is _not_ flattering," said McGonagall. James had just given Lily a gloating look, after she stumbled once again. She hid her face in embarrassment.

"What did I say, Miss Evans? HEAD UP! Mr. Potter, don't puff out your chest like that. It makes you look like an arrogant balloon." Lily snickered, and James scowled at her.

"_Head up, _Evans! You heard the woman!" He said, trying to regain his confidence. "I mean, naturally, you won't be as talented as me, but 'do _try_ not to step on my feet, alright?'" he quoted Lily. She scowled at him, her eyes narrowed into tiny slits. James grinned. _She's so cute when she's angry,_ he thought.

"No, no, Miss Evans! You let _Mr. Potter_ lead! Women do NOT LEAD!" Lily blushed, turning a bright crimson. James sniggered.

"Yeah, Evans! Leave the leading to me! After all, I _am_ a true leader," he winked. Lily rolled her eyes, and concentrated on the dance steps, looking down at her feet.

"MISS EVANS! LOOK UP! POSTURE! EYE CONTACT! Goodness, that is not it at _all_, Miss Evans! Allow me to show you," sighed McGonagall. She brushed Lily aside and wrapped her arms around James' neck. He put his hands up in the air, and looked at her waist, horrified. He turned a pale color, and nervously ruffled his hair.

"Erm…can't you just dance with _her_, Professor?" he asked, disgusted. Lily giggled.

"No, Potter. Then she will not see how it is _supposed_ to be done! Now GRAB MY WAIST! NOW!" she yelled. James gave Lily a reproachful look, but did as he was told. He grabbed McGonagalls waist, however lightly, as if she was going to transform into a dementor any second now. He stepped away from her as far as possible, and gulped. Lily pointed at him and snickered, a malicious smile on her face. James glared at her, and blushed. _There is NO WAY any of the guys are gonna hear about this,_ he thought. _This would make a man want to commit suicide!_

"One, two, three. One, two, three," chanted McGonagall, keeping eye contact with James, who looked quite frightened. Lily looked at him concern. He was looking quite pale, the only exception being his cheeks, which were a vivid crimson. She cleared her throat.

"Um…professor? I think I've got it now," she said. "But we're out of time, unfortunately. Thursday, same time, Professor?"

McGonagall sighed but nodded her head. James instantly dropped his hands off of her waist and backed away as far as possible, trying, but not succeeding, to look casual. Lily laughed.

"Potter, come on. We'd better get going." She said, trying to regain her composure.

He scowled at her. "Fine."

They marched off together, in the direction of their common room, both silent.

"I can't _wait_ to tell Paige and Whitney about that," Lily said, referring to the "McGonagall incident." "Then, naturally, I'll have to tell your friends, because, well, it will be absolutely hilarious, and mortifying for you. Which should be amusing."

James stared at her, wide eyed in shock. "You _wouldn't_!"

Lily grinned evilly. "Oh yes, I would, Potter."

"Well, if you do, I will just _have_ to tell the whole school that you kissed me back in fifth year."

It was now Lily's turn to gasp. She had made James swear to keep that incident a secret. "DON'T YOU DARE, POTTER!"

James smirked. "I think I dare. That is, only if you tell people about that little incident back in McGonagall's classroom."

Lily sighed. "_Fine_. I won't tell anyone. Promise," she said reluctantly.

James smiled. "Good. Ah, those were the days, in fifth year. Wish you would still kiss me like you did then…_damn_ you're a good kisser, you know that?"

Lily giggled, and blushed. "Thanks, Jam-_Potter_. I still can't believe I liked you in fifth year. I was so naïve."

"I recall you _liking_ that kiss, thank you."

"I was young…what do you expect?"

"Shove off, Evans. I know you liked it. You practically melted in my arms. Luckily I was able to save you from falling into the lake, what with my quidditch muscles and all," James grinned.

"Fine. I liked it, alright? Are you happy _now_? But that doesn't mean I would like it now. DON'T YOU DARE KISS ME, POTTER!" she added quickly, seeing the expression on his face. He scowled. "And as for your muscles…well, let's not go there," she blushed.

He snickered. "Oooh, you _do_ love me after all," he smiled. "I knew you'd come around Evans."

She scowled. "JUST BECAUSE I THINK YOU'RE HOT DOESN'T MEAN I LIKE YOU, ALRIGHT POTTER? UGH!"

James stared at her in alarm. "Erm…" he said, speechless for the first time in his life. He cleared his throat, and ruffled his hair casually. "You…you…think I'm…erm…_hot_?"

Lily turned pale (besides her cheeks, which were alarmingly red). "Oh. My. God. OH MY GOD!" she shrieked, still in disbelief about what she had just revealed. James stared at her, both very confused, and very alarmed. He never liked it when girls got super girly. It tended to frighten him.

"Erm…Evans? That's alright, I mean, I think you're hot too…which should be obvious…that I think you're hot I mean…but it's obvious you're hot, too…" he rambled, not quite sure what to do.

She remained rooted to the floor. Suddenly, she shook her head, as if clearing her head, and ran to the common room as fast as she could.

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"How did lessons go, Prongs?" asked Sirius casually.

"They were…erm…uneventful," James lied, sitting on the couch beside Sirius in Gryffindor common room, his eyes glazed over.

Sirius eyed him suspiciously. "Something's up," he said. "Tell us. NOW."

"No, Padfoot! Sometimes you just have to keep things to yourself…and, well, this is one of those things."

Sirius stared at James in alarm. "You _are_ maturing! I was afraid of this!" he started pacing the common room, deep in thought. "This calls for an intervention. Everyone, come round. JAMES POTTER! ARE YOU IN THERE? YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO US! WE'RE THE MARAUDERS! DOOOOOO NOOOOTTTT MAAATUUURRREEE," said Sirius, in a hypnotic voice. James laughed.

"Aren't you late for your most recent snog session, Padfoot?" he asked.

Sirius looked at his watch, and gulped. "DAMN IT! WE'LL FINISH THIS LATER, PRONGS!" He quickly ran out of the room.

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Dear Journal,

OH. MY. GOD. OH MY GOD OH MY GOD! I CAN'T BELIEVE I SAID THAT OUT LOUD! I said JAMES POTTER was hot…right in front of him! And he _heard me_! This is absolutely horrible. It will inflate his already large head. He'll spread it around school, and then Andrew will _definitely_ not give me a chance. I am so stupid. I can't believe I did that. It was slightly funny, though. Potter just stood there, in shock, not knowing what to do. I wonder what Potter will say to me next time I see him. I dread that moment. I am now sitting on my bed, with the door locked, so Potter doesn't try to get in. I heard him coming in a while ago…mumbling things like, "strange. Hot. Me. She thinks…why? Was she serious? Couldn't be. Must be joke. Tired. Need rest. This can't be happening. In a dream. Go to bed, James." Ha ha ha! I'm still mortified, though.

Dancing went alright, I suppose. We stepped on each other's feet a fair amount of times. What's strange is I actually _enjoyed_ dancing with Potter. The only reasonable explanation for this is that Whitney overdosed my Cheering Charm today in charms. Why else would I be happy about dancing with Potter?

Still no word from my parents…Head Rounds start very soon. Potter and I have to go patrolling Hogwarts' campus. _Together_, unfortunately. I am too tired to write anything else. I'll write later.

Lily Evans


	7. Menacing Fangirls

James and Lily's lessons had gone on uneventfully. They had greatly improved, and hardly ever stepped on the other's foot anymore. When they passed each other in the halls, Lily glared at James with a particular harshness, as if trying to show him she didn't like him. Whenever they made eye contact, James looked away sheepishly, ruffling his jet black hair.

A few days after their first dance lesson, crowds of girls followed James everywhere he went, even to classes, hoping he would ask them to the ball. James found it rather disconcerting. He had always wondered why they did that to him. Did they think it was attractive? After a few days, the "James Fan club," as Sirius called it, was getting out of control. Remus suggested having an "impromptu press conference," to set the record straight with all of them.

"Right," Sirius had said. "Word of advice, Prongs. Once you say your bit, _run_."

The marauders had decided on holding it in the Charm's classroom, as it was the largest classroom. It did not take long for word to spread around the female Hogwarts population that James was holding a press conference. Nearly one hundred girls arrived, right on time. James gazed at them in awe. _Why can't Lily like me like all these girls do_? He thought to himself. Suddenly, Remus stepped on the tiny platform they had set up.

"As you all know, James would like to have a word with you about…erm…_things_. So, well, here he is, then." He stepped off the platform as James hopped on. He stretched and ruffled his hair nervously.

"Er…right. Thanks, Remus," he said, gesturing towards Lupin. They hardly ever used their nicknames in public. "Well…erm…it's certainly…how do I put this…flattering? That you all chase after me, every second of every day. Hell, you even try to go into the boy's bathrooms. But, uh, if you're chasing after me hoping I will ask you to the ball, then I'm afraid you're wasting your time. I already have a date to the ball."

A girl with long, shiny black hair stood up. "Who's your date?" she asked, obviously annoyed some other girl had "gotten" James.

James stared at her in amusement. "Well…um…not sure if it's for me to say…"

Suddenly, all the girls stood up and pulled out their wands. They seemed quite determined to get as much information as possible out of James. "TELL US!"

James backed away from them, wide eyed. "OKAY! OKAY! I'LL TELL YOU!" he said over the shouting. Everyone immediately silenced and sat down. "Erm…my date is…is…Lily Evans. But…er…in her defense, she is only going with me because she has too, seeing as we're Head Boy and Head Girl." The crowd of girls gasped, their tempers rising.

"Stupid Evans," said one. "I'm prettier than her! What does she have I don't?"

"WHY HER? SHE'S SO…SO…NOT ME!"

"UGH! EVANS? I suppose I'd better start looking up good hexes…"

"WHY? AM I THAT UGLY! I FEEL SO REJECTED," sobbed another.

The marauders gazed at the girls in awe. "This here," proclaimed Sirius. "Is what every man needs to see. The real behaviour of the female species. Behind the scenes, you know, what they are _really_ like." They all stared at the girls with their mouths open. They had never seen so many different emotions at the same time, and over something so trivial. Suddenly, the girl with the long black hair stood up again. James groaned.

"Does this mean you two are dating?"

"Erm…no. Absolutely not…I wish we were, tho-" James silenced upon seeing Sirius make a slashing gesture. Apparently that was not the thing to say to a mob of girls trying to win him over. The girls whispered in delight at his response, chatting animatedly to the ones nearest them. Another girl stood up.

"So are you free for the next Hogsmeade trip, then?" she asked him.

"Well, yes, I suppose I am-"

Suddenly, the mob of girls ran towards him and the other three marauders, giggling excitedly.

"JAMES! JAMES! GO WITH ME TO HOGSMEADE!"

"No, don't go with her! She…she…erm…she snores in her sleep! GO WITH ME!"

"I LOVE YOU JAMES! I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!"

"MARRY ME, JAMES?"

"You know you love me, sweetheart!"

"GO WITH ME! PLEASE? I've already planned our wedding! I've told mum about us!"

"I KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU, JAMES! Your birthday, your favorite food, your favorite quidditch team, what time you go to bed at night, what bed you sleep in, your morning routine-"

"I'll kill myself if you don't pick me!"

"JAMES! WE HAVE A CONNECTION!"

"I FEEL LIKE I ALREADY KNOW YOU!"

"Sometimes I sneak into your room and watch you sleep! It's not hard, you know. Just need the password is all. You are so cute when you sleep, James…all curled up in the blanket…"

"I'M PRETTIER THAN HER!"

"NO, YOU'RE NOT!"

"YES I AM!"

"NO YOU'RE NOT!"

"WHATEVER! GET HIM!" They chased the marauders into a corner of the room. Remus was staring innocently at the girls, never realizing before how they could be so…possessive. Peter was _trying_ to hide behind Sirius, but his stomach showed from behind Sirius. Sirius was quite amused, but still a bit frightened. James was grasping the wall, frantically trying to slide down the wall and out the door. His face was quite pale, and he looked desperate. The girls got closer to him, and to James, they looked quite menacing.

"RUN!" Sirius shouted as the girls gained speed.

The marauders quickly ran out the charms corridor. Over his shoulder, James sent a locking spell at the door, causing the girls inside to kick and scream. However, the marauders kept running, knowing it was only a matter of time that the girls unlocked the door. James anxiously looked behind his shoulder to see if they were coming, and knocked into someone in front of him. Lily.

"Potter? What're you doing? You know you shouldn't run in the halls," Lily teased, surprised and curious of what James was doing. She looked behind him and saw Peter, Sirius, and Remus leaning against the wall, out of breath and nervous, clutching their stomachs. "Did Filch catch you four, or something? Why were you running?"

"scary…girls…want…me…are chasing me…" James managed to say, gasping for air.

Lily snickered. "Ah, yes. James Potter's fan girls. Have they asked you to autograph body parts yet, Potter?"

James scowled at her. "No, they haven't. It's only a matter of time, though. Those girls are _insane_!"

Lily grinned. "Don't worry. It's just because you're the 'popular bad boy,' and you're ho-" she stopped, blushing, looking down at the floor.

"Listen, we've got to run. It's only a matter of time before they come this way. Could you do us a favor? When they come, tell them we went the other way? Thanks, bye!"

Lily smirked. "CALLING ALL POTTER LOVERS! HE'S THIS WAY! APPROACHING THE LIBRARY! RUN, GIRLS, RUN! HE'S GETTING AWAY!" Suddenly, the mob came from around the corner and pelted themselves at the marauders, who stared at them with alarm.

"_Shit_!" groaned Sirius. "Women. Why can't they do the traditional thing, write your name on their notebooks? It would also help if you would get a bit more ugly, Prongs…which you should definitely do…then at least they'd be off our backs. AARGH!" he said as a girl knocked him over, leaping on top of him, practically tackling him. Girls were now walking on top of him to get to James. "SAVE YOURSELVES, MY FRIENDS! THERE'S NO HOPE FOR ME! I'm already in…the mob…" he cried, his voice getting muffled. Lily laughed, clutching a nearby suit of armor for support.

James glared at her. "PADFOOT! PADFOOT, WE'RE NOT LEAVING YOU! THE MARAUDERS ARE A TEAM THROUGH THICK AND THIN! NO MAN GETS LEFT BEHIND!" James heard a groan of comprehension from the area where Sirius was getting trampled. He gulped, and surged through the mob. Soon he found Sirius, and brought him to standing position.

"_Damn_, chicks are feisty nowadays! What happened to the good old traditional times, when they would make us brownies?" he groaned.

James laughed. "Don't say that any louder, they might hear you. Then you'd be dead for sure. Come on, let's make our way back to Wormtail and Moony." They pushed their way through the confused crowd to meet their friends. They all formed a quick huddle.

"Alright," James said. "I'll distract them…they'll go running after me, and that should allow you three to make your way back to the common room, alright?"

"PRONGS, NO!" exclaimed Remus. "You can't! There must be another way! Don't sacrifice yourself for our sake!"

James laughed. "Well, isn't _this_ a dramatic affair? Moony, it's no big deal! I'll be alright…I hope." James gulped, and stepped out of the huddle. "I'M OVER HERE!" he shouted to the girls. They instantly ran towards him. His eyes got ten times larger, and he bolted through the corridor, and around the corner, screaming girls running behind him. _Damn! You'd think they would have lost energy by now!_ He thought. He looked over his shoulder and saw his three friends making their way through the opposite corridor, and Lily eyeing James with concern. Then the concern quickly faded away and in its place was amusement. James turned his head straight again, and saw he was nearly at the Head Common Room.

"tiddywinkle!" he gasped to the ballerina portrait. It instantly slid opened and allowed him inside. He quickly slammed the portrait hole closed and leaned against the wall for support, clutching his stomach, panting. _Bloody hell! These girls are determined!_ He thought. _Maybe I should transfigure myself, like Sirius suggested._ Then, he remembered what Lily had said the other day after their first dance lesson, and decided against it. He walked into his bedroom, collapsed onto his bed, and instantly fell asleep.


	8. AHA!

It was the night of the ball. James was anxiously waiting for Lily in the Head Common Room. She had said she would be ready at seven o'clock. It was now seven thirty. _I wonder if she is STILL getting ready_, he thought. _That's the difference between men and women. We don't particularly care about our appearance, as long as girls are swooning at the sight of us. But women…they're different. Everything about them has to be PERFECT…it makes you wonder what they really look like, under all that gunk they put on their face…God, I don't want to think about it._ He shook his head to wipe away the thought.

"Potter?"

James quickly turned around, his mouth open to blame Lily for being late. At the sight of her, he quickly closed his mouth, but it opened again in shock. Her hair was down in loose curls and she had a form-fitting, strapless green dress on, that sparkled a bit when she walked. Her makeup was done perfectly (not that James knew this, he didn't know a thing about makeup), and her green eyes seemed even more vivid. James stared at her, speechless (for one of the first times in his life). Lily smiled.

"Wow, Evans. You look…you look…_bloody hot_! You always look hot, but…but tonight…_wow_." His mouth dropped a bit more. He gave her the "sweep look," the one all girls acknowledge with anxiousness. The look men give women when they're analyzing their appearance, to see if they pass their "test." James' eyes moved from Lily's feet all the way up to her head, taking in her whole appearance. His eyes then widened, and he gave her the "nod of approval." Lily rolled her eyes, but blushed.

"Thanks, Potter. You look…okay. Shall we go now? The ball starts in fifteen minutes."

James opened his mouth to say that _she_ was the reason they were short on time, but quickly closed it again, not wanting to anger her. They made their way out of the common room and down to the Entrance Hall. All the other students had already been admitted into the Great Hall, taking their seats at the tables, waiting for James and Lily's dramatic entrance. McGonagall was waiting for them in the Entrance Hall.

"There you two are! You're late! Come on now, can't keep them waiting any longer," she pushed them near the Great Hall doors. James gulped, ruffling his hair nervously. Lily sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. Then she grabbed James' hand (who stared at her in surprise), and magically opened the doors. Together they strode across the Great Hall to the middle of the dance floor, Lily holding her head up high, and James staring at everyone sheepishly. The music started up, and James placed his hands on Lily's waist. Lily took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around James' neck, praying she wouldn't fall over in front of the entire school. They gracefully waltzed around the dance floor, keeping eye contact with each other, forgetting completely that they were not the only people in the room. Lily blushed, and grinned at James, who winked at her, smiling charmingly. They continued to spin around the dance floor, and soon all the prefects were joining them. Lily was getting extremely dizzy, what with all the spinning and twirling. She started to stumble, but James held her steady, a firm grip on her waist.

"I'm not about to let _you_ be the one to stumble across the dance floor. That's my job! I've got a reputation to protect," he grinned. Lily laughed, to her dismay. She looked over to where Paige and Whitney were sitting. To her surprise, they were sitting with the other three marauders. Paige and Whitney were giving her the thumbs-up signal, smirking. Sirius was grinning, happy for his friend. Remus smiled at Lily warmly and encouragingly, giving her a nod. Peter just stared at her and James, his mouth open, quite confused (as usual). Now the faculty members were getting up to dance. Dumbledore danced with McGonagall, Slughorn with Sprout, and Filch with an enlarged Mrs. Norris (James and Lily laughed uncontrollably at this, causing them to bump into a prefect couple). James gazed into Lily's stunningly green eyes.

"You really are the most beautiful girl I know," he whispered to her. "I'm not lying when I tell you I love you. I really care about you."

Lily blushed and looked down at the floor, not knowing what to say. James smiled at her and pushed her chin up with his hand, then quickly moved his hand back to her waist again. "Hey, Evans! Don't go all self-conscious thirteen year old girl on me! I wouldn't know what to do," he grinned, causing her to giggle. The music had ended, causing James and Lily to stop in their place, not knowing what to do next. The room erupted in applause, with many shouts of, "GO LILY! GREAT JOB, JAMES!" James began a long, complicated, dramatic bow, causing Lily to laugh. He then grabbed her hand, and pulled her into a bow as well. Still clasping her hand gently, James pulled Lily over to the table where their friends were seated.

"Good job, mate," grinned Sirius, gesturing towards James. "It looks like she's warming up to you somewhat," he whispered. James smiled in response, and quickly made his way back towards Lily, occupying the seat next to her. Paige and Whitney giggled, causing Lily to glare at them.

"Good job, Evans. You know, you're the prettiest girl here," James stared into her eyes, searching for any signs of emotion.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Nice line, Potter." However, she couldn't help but smile.

James continued to gaze into her eyes. "No, I mean it! Genuinely! If you want I'll go grab some veritaserum from the potions storage cupboard…" he got up, grinning, knowing Lily wouldn't allow him to steal something.

Lily sighed. "No, Potter, sit down. I believe you. And…erm…_thanks_," she added, upon seeing the look she got from both Paige and Whitney, who were pretending not to be listening. James winked in return, taking a sip of water.

Lily sighed again. Her two best friends were talking with the marauders (purposely, she suspected), so she had no one to talk to but James. She decided to start up a conversation. "So, James. How's Gryffindor's quidditch team going this year?" she asked. James was captain of the team.

James choked on his water in surprise of her saying something. "Erm…alright, I suppose. The beaters are really horrid, but they'll get there." Lily nodded her head in response, pretending to be interested in their conversation. James laughed at her expression.

"Listen," he said, amused. "We can talk about something else. I know you're not too interested in quidditch. So…erm…" he said, trying to think of a new topic of discussion. "How's your felix felicis going in potions?" he asked her, as it was all he could think of.

Lily laughed. "Oh, it's doing alright…the tinge of it is a bit off so far, though. How is yours?"

"Alright, I suppose…"

They sat in silence for a bit, not knowing what to talk about. Paige, Whitney, and the three other marauders had gone off to another table together (with their immense giggling), to give James and Lily what Paige called "privacy." Lily glanced over at them now. All five quickly looked away guiltily, as they were staring at James and Lily.

James suddenly cleared his throat. "So, Lily…rounds start tomorrow night, then?" he asked her.

"Erm, yes," said Lily, surprised James had used her first name. Suddenly she laughed. "James, you've got glitter all over your hands! It must be from my dress, you know, when you were holding my waist."

James stared at her in awe. "Did you just call me by my first name?"

"No! 'Course not, you prat!" Lily scoffed.

"AHA! You _did_ call me by my first name!" James exclaimed loudly, pointing at her.

"Shut up."

"OOOH! DENIAL!" James smirked.

"I only called you James because you called me Lily!"

James gasped. "I did _nothing_ of the sort!"

"You so did."

"I so didn't!"

"Come off it, James-"

"AHA! THERE! YOU DID IT AGAIN!"

"I'll admit I called you James if you admit you called me Lily!"

James sighed. "Fine. I called you Lily. But it just slipped out…I dunno why. You'll always be Evans to me."

"Good. Because you will always be Potter to me."

James smiled at her expression of determinedness. He then looked over at his friends, who were staring at him and Lily anxiously. "Look at that. They're all staring at us! And they said they were leaving us for privacy!" he chuckled.

They continued to talk animatedly, laughing and smiling at each other often. After about two hours of talking with James, someone suddenly tapped Lily on the shoulder. She turned around to see who it was, and gasped. There before her was the charming Hufflepuff, Andrew Gates, smiling down at her.

"Hey, Lily," he said, winking at her charmingly. "Want to dance?" he asked, full of confidence.

Lily giggled. "Alright, Andrew." She took the hand he had offered her, and walked with him to the dance floor. James scowled and crossed his arms over his chest, slumping into his chair. _Stupid Gates_, he thought. _What does he have that I don't? Everything was going well until HE came and ruined everything._ Sirius came over and sat next to him, looking at him anxiously.

"Erm…Prongs?" he asked cautiously. James was known to lose his temper after something horrible had happened between him and Lily (which happened pretty much everyday). James gave a sound of acknowledgement.

"Listen, mate," Sirius started. "Really sorry about that. It seemed like you two were actually getting along for a while. She'll come round eventually," he said comfortingly. He hated to see his best friend so miserable. Suddenly, Sirius' eyes lit up. "HEY PRONGS! What are you doing over here? This is not the James Potter I know! Get your ass over there and ask Evans to dance!"

James looked at him questioningly, then nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. YEAH! I'm going to go over there! Thanks, Padfoot!" Sirius nodded wryly.

James made his way over to Lily and Andrew. "Er…Lil-Evans? May I have this dance?" Lily stared at him for a moment, then blushed and nodded.

"You don't mind, do you, Andrew?" she asked him. Andrew scowled, but shrugged, and stomped away, glaring at James. James smirked, cockily messing up his hair. He grabbed Lily's waist, and Lily wrapped her arms around his neck, blushing. They looked into each others eyes, acknowledging no one else. The song soon ended, but James kept his hands on Lily's waist.

"Another dance, Evans?" he asked her anxiously.

She giggled. "Um…sure, Potter...only because I have to, though," she blushed, pointing over at McGonagall.

James smirked. "Is it really because you have to? I think you're starting to enjoy my company, Miss Evans!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't go _that_ far, Potter. I am now quite tempted to just leave you all alone on this dance floor!" But she didn't. In fact, James and Lily danced together for the rest of the night, not taking even one break. Sirius smiled to himself. _I am SUCH a genius,_ he thought.

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Dear Journal,

Tonight was the Commencement Ball…the dancing went alright, I suppose. James – I mean Potter, and I even got applause. Then we sat at our table and just…_talked_. It was awkward talking to Potter. I'd never really gotten to know him before. I suppose it was a good opportunity to see that real him…strange thing is, he's actually not that bad! I don't know…maybe I'm just imagining things, but he seemed a bit polite tonight. Don't get me wrong, I mean, he's still as arrogant as ever. But now he's…a bit more mature.

Andrew, that cute Hufflepuff, asked me to dance tonight! I'm really happy he likes me back. I'm a little disappointed, though. All he talks about is himself. But maybe he was just nervous around me, which is sweet. Anyway, Potter cut in and we danced the rest of the night. I don't know why I kept dancing with him – perhaps I felt bad for him? Afterwards, Paige and Whitney kept smirking and gloating. Sirius was giving me looks of glee. I think he was mentally thanking me for not hurting his friend. I really hope Andrew isn't mad at me now! He looked kind of irritated when Potter cut in…I suppose I'll just have to see tomorrow. Andrew and I are getting closer, now. I hope he asks me out soon! I can't bear anymore waiting!

Lily Evans


	9. love hurts

"Alright, class. Please write an essay on the Avis charm, a roll of parchment long, due next Monday. No excuses!" chirped Professor Flitwick as students filed out of the doorway. James hastily grabbed his books and made his way out of the classroom, hurrying down the hallway. Sirius and Remus followed closely behind him, and Peter panted down the hallway, trying to catch up. Suddenly James stopped, causing Sirius and Remus to bump into him.

"Oi, Evans! I reckon you know what's coming next," grinned James. Lily rolled her eyes (but smiled), and turned around to face James. A crowd of students formed around them. James and Lily's conversations were always student's favorite source of entertainment.

"Get on with it, Potter. I've got places to be," Lily groaned.

James grinned. "Will you go out with me, Evans?"

Lily grinned. "Absolutely not, Potter. There is no way I would ever go out with _you_. But thanks for the offer," she smirked. She turned around and began walking down the hallway with Paige and Whitney.

James laughed. "Oh, Evans? I wasn't done with you yet," he grinned.

Lily sighed, and turned around reluctantly. "What _now_, Potter?" she asked a bit nervously.

James pulled out a tiny, leafy plant from his pocket. "Mistletoe, Evans. I know it's a bit out of season, but I thought I'd give it a try," his eyes sparkled. Lily rolled her eyes and started walking away again, pursing her lips.

"Hey, Evans? Come back here! You know what mistletoe means!" James beamed.

Lily walked towards him, a determined look on her face. "Potter, I'd rather kiss a toad."

"That can be arranged," countered James, smirking at Lily. He knew how frightened she was of toads. He summoned a toad with his wand, and muttered some spells under his breath. Lily now looked very nervous.

James looked up at her, trying to suppress his laughter. "Alright, Evans. Here are your choices. You either kiss me, the toad, or you get hives and hair will start sprouting out of your nose." The crowd started laughing, anxiously awaiting Lily's reply. They knew Lily would never kiss a toad, and that curse sounded absolutely horrible. That only left one choice – kissing James.

Lily turned pale and frightened for a moment, then regained her composure. She grinned at James. "You're bluffing. You didn't say that curse about the hives and nose hair!"

He returned her smile. "I suppose we'll see if I was, then."

"You love me far too much to do that to me."

"Love hurts."

Lily sighed, now quite frightened. _There is NO WAY I am going to kiss Potter in public. Its worse enough I kissed him in fifth year! And the toad is out of the question – ew! And I definitely do NOT want to grow nose hair and receive hives…_She started pacing, thinking about what to do. James stared at her, smiling to himself. Suddenly, Lily looked up at James, full of confidence. She tried to suppress her laughter.

"Alright, James. Come here, I'll kiss you," she said, unable to hold in her laughter. The crowd gasped, and moved closer to James and Lily.

"Ah, look here. Evans is actually _happy_ she gets to kiss me. You should feel privileged, Evans. Let this day go down in history, students, as-"

"Shut up and come here so I can kiss you already, Potter."

James did so obediently.

"Close your eyes." He did so, grinning excitedly. Lily smirked. She summoned the toad with her wand and brought it to James' lips. The crowd laughed, especially Sirius, who was laying on the floor, clutching his stomach with laughter. Lily had to laugh herself. She had just fooled _the_ James Potter, the _infamous_ _prankster_ James Potter.

James opened his eyes and smiled triumphantly. "Well, I must say, Evans. You _really_ need to work on your kissing skills." Then, in a lower tone, so only Lily could hear him, he whispered, "Whatever happened to the skills you put to good use in fifth year?"

Lily smiled inwardly, successfully holding in her laughter. She merely shrugged at James in response, and walked away with Paige and Whitney. The crowd was now dispersing, as the show was now over. James turned to face his three friends. Peter was pounding on the ground, panting slightly because of laughing. Remus was wiping tears out of his eyes, holding onto the wall for support. Sirius was rolling around on the floor like a madman, letting out barks of laughter.

James stared at them in confusion. "What? I mean, I know you're happy for me, I'm ecstatic too, but what is so funny?"

Sirius stopped laughing for a moment, stared directly into James' eyes, and starting laughing hysterically again, getting many strange looks from student passerby. Peter just continued giggling uncontrollably. Remus had a pained look on his face, trying to conceal his laughter. He turned to James. "It wasn't…Lily who you kissed…kissed toad," he managed to say, before erupting in peals of laughter once more.

James stared at him, astonished. "_What_? I kissed a _toad_?" he fumed. His eyes widened, and he suddenly pointed his wand at his mouth. "_Scourgify!_" His mouth was filled with soap and bubbles. James also summoned a toothbrush and started scrubbing vehemently, causing Sirius to break out in even _more_ laughter, clutching his stomach. James scowled at his friends and stormed away, leaving them all lying on the ground, bursting with fits of giggles.

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Dear Journal,

Today was a great day! Potter did his usual routine – "EVANS! DATE! NOW!" and I refused. Then he said I could either kiss him or this toad he had summoned. If I did neither I would get hives and hair would come out of my nose. I have to admit, I was _really_ frightened for a few minutes. Potter has a reputation of being quite talented with hexes. Then I realized he simply loves me too much to mortify me like that. But I decided to have a bit of fun with him. I told him to close his eyes, and I would kiss him. He eagerly did so. He was _beaming_! Then I summoned the toad over to him, and he kissed it! It was great fun! He didn't even know it wasn't me kissing him! No word from Andrew yet, but we didn't have any of the same classes today. Perhaps tomorrow.

Lily


	10. peers

"Hey, Evans. I have to admit, that was a good one you pulled on me the other day, with the toad," James grinned, catching up to Lily in the hallway.

Lily smiled confidently. "Thank you, Potter. I think so too. I just loved the look on your face. You two will make a great couple, you know," she grinned.

James rolled his eyes. "Not nearly as good as we could be together."

Lily snorted. "Come off it, Potter."

"I will _not_. You know we're supposed to be together, Evans. I mean, we were both made Heads! That's fate," James winked.

"I suppose I know what's coming next…"

"Of course. Go out with me?"

"No. Now goodbye, nice talking to you, hope to not see you soon." Lily walked at a faster pace, trying to get away from James. James sped up, now walking beside her again. She groaned, but smiled.

"Why won't you ever go out with me, Evans?" he asked her seriously.

"Um…are you sure you want to hear this, Potter?" she asked him nervously.

"Absolutely. Lay it on me."

Lily sighed. "Well…erm…you're really arrogant, you're a bully, you make trouble for no apparent reason. And, well, I just don't like you _that_ way. We're just friends, at the most."

James' face fell, but he nodded, trying not to show any emotion. "Right. Sure. Just friends. Okay. Um…yeah. Well, I'll just go now, leave you alone." He quickly walked away from Lily, his head down, a disappointed expression on his face.

"Potter? Potter, wait! Please, don't be angry! I didn't mean to upset you, really!" Lily called after him, feeling horrible. He turned back to look at her, his face broken with many emotions. He just shook his head solemnly, and turned forward again, not giving Lily another glance.

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"PRONGS! STOP IT, RIGHT NOW! I hate seeing you like this! Go back to your old self! I liked you a lot better that way. Want to throw Peter the rat around the room a few times? That used to make you feel better!" Sirius said anxiously, looking at James with concern. James just shook his head, staring into the Gryffindor Common Room fire. He didn't want to go to his own common room, and find Lily there. He had to think about things first. _What's the point of even loving her if she thinks all we'll ever be is just friends? At the MOST. Love sucks. You can't even get over that person, because you LOVE them._

"Prongs?" It was Moony. James turned his head to face him. "Erm…listen, Lily will come round sooner or later. You just have to take it slow. Don't rush into things!"

James looked up at his friends, who were all gazing at him concernedly. Even Peter knew what was going on. James grinned at them. "Thanks for all the support, but I think I have to think about things before I make any decisions." He nodded to them appreciatively, and walked out of the portrait hole, making his way reluctantly to the Head Common Room. He stepped into the common room, and was surprised to find Lily sitting on a couch, doing her homework. She looked up suddenly, and a nervous expression passed over her face when she saw that it was James.

"Oh, erm, Potter! Hello…erm…" Lily looked down at the floor, not sure what to say. James took a deep breath, and decided to sit down opposite her, and wait for what she was trying to say.

"Er…just doing my homework, here…potions…that babbling beverage essay…" James grinned at her awkwardness, and nodded. He suddenly remembered why he would always love Lily. He couldn't quite label what it was about her – but he knew his love for her would last forever. Lily seemed quite relieved James wasn't angry with her. "So…er…you're not angry with me, are you, Potter? No that I wouldn't mind it, if it meant you would stop asking me out," she added, trying not to sound _too_ concerned.

James smiled at her warmly. "I could never be mad at you, Evans. For long, anyway."

Lily still looked uncomfortable. "Ok. Then are we…er…frien-I mean, peers? Not, like, enemies, or anything?"

"Sure. You could call us peers. I definitely don't want to be your enemy. You know a mean bogey hex."

"You're not so bad at hexes yourself, Potter." She smiled at him, and he returned the grin. They sat there for a while, each sitting directly across from the other, each staring at the other.

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Dear Journal,

Today, Potter asked me out as usual, and I said no (again, as usual). But then he asked me why I wouldn't go out with him. I was a little nervous about telling him, because I knew it would make him sad. I _hate_ making anyone sad, or making them angry with me. I feel horrible whenever I do. So I told him why I wouldn't go out with him, and he looked crushed. He just walked away from me, really depressed. Then, later on, when I was doing my homework in the common room, he just came over and sat by me, staring at me for the longest time. I asked him if he was still mad at me, and he said no. I was really relieved. I didn't want him to be mad at me – even if he _is_ just Potter.

Lily


	11. Prove It

"Good job on your 'Avis' essays, class! I was very proud of you – well, at least _most_ of you," twittered Flitwick in his usual airy voice. He sent the essays flying to their owner's hands – besides Sirius' essay, which ended up attacking his face. Eventually, he managed to pull it off his face, and read the grade he received. He smirked.

"Beat this, Prongs. B," he said, grinning.

James snickered. "I got an A, Padfoot. Why is it that I _always_ get better grades?" he gave Sirius a smug look. Sirius rolled his eyes, and muttered something about getting "Evans to do it for you." James smiled, and turned behind him to face Evans. "Oi, Evans. What'd you get?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Sharing grades is completely pointless, Potter, because I already know I did better than you. The entire _class_ probably did better than you, you prat."

James snickered. "Let's compare grades anyway, Evans. Just to see. You're probably right, you know. Everyone in the class probably did better than me. I just want to know your grade! _Pleeease_?" James smirked, holding in his laughter.

Lily sighed, and groaned. "Fine, Potter. I was just _trying_ to protect you from disappointment, you know," she smirked, determined.

"Just show me your grade already."

"A-. And you?"

"A! HA! I _knew_ I was smarter than you, Evans! Its okay, you can bow to me now, if you like. I won't mind. I know I'm your superior."

Lily had gone rigid, her face white with shock. "Y-you. Did b-better than…_me_?"

"Here, see for yourself," James beamed, passing her his essay. She stared at it in surprise, then closed her eyes, and shook her head a few times.

"This…this…_how_?" Lily exclaimed, rereading both her and James' essays.

"I'd be willing to tutor you, Evans. You know, seeing as you're having so much trouble."

Lily's eyes narrowed. "Shut up, Potter. I don't want to hear it."

"Can I just say one more thing? HA!"

"POTTER! I don't want to hear another _peep_ out of you!"

"PEEP!"

"ENOUGH, POTTER! PLEASE!"

"Aw! Are your feelings hurt, Evans? I am just _so_ very sorry-"

"Very funny. Just because you did better than me does _not_ mean that you are smarter than me, you know."

"Sure. Right. Of course," James winked, rolling his eyes. Lily stood up to leave the classroom, trying to hold in her laughter. _This situation _is_ quite funny_, she thought. _I suppose Potter isn't as thick as I thought he was._ Suddenly, James became solemn. "You know, an A- is really good, too. Nothing to be ashamed of. Peter here got an E!"

Lily grinned despite herself. "Yes, I know. Thanks, Potter. Good job, by the way. Maybe you _should_ tutor me," she winked, before she could stop herself.

James stared at her in alarm. "Er…well…erm…" he said, not knowing what to say. Lily grinned as she walked past him, and left the classroom. Once she was in the hallway, she opened her mouth in horror. _What the _hell_ did I just do? That…that's just…NOT RIGHT! He's POTTER, LILY! POTTER! GROSS, FILTHY, ARROGANT PRAT **POTTER!**_ She shook her head, disgusted with herself. Suddenly, she bumped into someone, who groaned in response. She started.

"OH! I'm sorry, I – _ANDREW?_" She gasped. She had bumped into Andrew Gates, the Hufflepuff she had danced with at the Commencement Ball. "Oh my God, Andrew! I'm so sorry! I just slammed into you! I…er…well, I-"

Andrew grinned. "It's no problem, Lily. No permanent damage done." Lily glanced at him suspiciously, as he was clutching his foot with his hand. However, she remained silent, growing increasingly red. Andrew smiled at her. "Really. I'll be fine, Lily. Don't worry. Besides, you're so sweet, no one could be mad at you for longer than five minutes!" Lily blushed an even deeper red. "Erm…listen, Lily," started Andrew, sounding uncomfortable. Lily nodded impatiently, knowing what was coming next. "I was just…er…wondering…if you would want to, maybe…go out – with _me_?" he asked her sheepishly.

Lily reluctantly fought the urge to fling her arms around his neck. She beamed. "Sure, Andrew. Why not?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

Andrew smiled, relieved she had accepted. "Can I walk with you to our next class, Lily?" he asked her sweetly, brushing his short blonde bangs out of his eyes.

"Of course," she said with glee. Andrew awkwardly grabbed her hand, and they made their way down the hallway together, smiling at one another. James stared after them solemnly, looking heart broken.

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"LILY! YOU AND ANDREW? Are you serious?" screeched Whitney, in their dormitory that afternoon.

Lily giggled and nodded. "He's _so_ sweet, too! Always so polite…sensitive, quiet, kind. Not to mention _incredibly_ good looking…" Lily sighed, blushing.

Paige laughed, throwing a pillow at Lily. "You _loooove_ Andrew, don't you, Lily? Hmmm…Lily Gates. Has a bit of a ring to it. Not as much as Lily Potter, though," she teased. Lily scowled at her.

"Does James know about you two yet, Lily?" asked Whitney anxiously. "He could take it pretty hard. Poor James! How could you do this to him, Lily?" she glared.

Lily gazed at her, speechless. "Exactly _whose_ side are you _on_?" she exclaimed. "He has to get over me sooner or later! It might as well be sooner."

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James and Lily were walking around Hogwarts castle, patrolling for students out after curfew. Whenever Lily tried to start a conversation between them, James would only give her yes or no answers. His mind seemed to be somewhere else – he was distant. After a while, Lily gave up, and they walked in silence, occasionally checking broom cupboards and suits of armor. Suddenly, James cleared his throat.

"So, Evans. You're dating that git Gates now, I suppose?" his voice was stiff.

"Erm…yes. Why do you ask?" she asked uncomfortably, getting nervous.

"Just wondering. The whole school was talking about it – that, and, well, how I was taking it." He frowned, turning away from her.

"Oh. I see. So. How _are_ you taking it? Er…just curious."

He glanced at her a moment, his eyes narrowed. "I dunno. And why would you care? I mean, it's obvious you don't care about my feelings, seeing as you decided to go off with that git."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "_Excuse me?_ Of course I care about your feelings, Potter!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it is."

"Prove it."

"How?"

"You'll figure it out," James said, turning away once more, leaving Lily in complete confusion and shock. Neither of them said another word to each other during the rest of their rounds.

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Dear Journal,

Andrew _finally_ asked me to be his girlfriend! Of course, I accepted. How could I _not_? He is so…perfect! Naturally, Whitney gave me a hard time about Potter. He'll get over it eventually. I mean, after all, he _is_ THE famous James Potter. I kind of feel bad for him, though. Today, in our rounds, he looked so sad and heart broken. I hope it doesn't _really_ hurt him. He said something strange today too. He questioned if I cared about his feelings, and when I said I did, he told me to prove it. I had no idea what he was talking about, but all he said was, "you'll figure it out." What is _that_ supposed to mean? I don't think he even knows.

Andrew is so sweet! Not to mention incredibly handsome. We are going to Hogsmeade together. I am really excited. He's the boyfriend I've always dreamed of – at least, so far, he is.

Lily


	12. Hidden Agendas

**A/N:** There is some bad language in here, I just thought I would advise you. My friends always scream at me for using particular words, and the words in here are some of them. So I'm just warning you – there's some foul language. Oh, and while we're at it, there are some…erm…_sexual references_, as well. So…keep that in mind before reading this chapter. Now that I've succeeded in sounding like a PG movie preview, here is the chapter:

James Potter paced the Head Common Room, deep in thought. _Lily deserves to have fun with a boyfriend. She deserves to like someone who loves her back,_ thought his angelic side. _NO SHE DOESN'T!_ fought his demonic side. _YOU deserve her! Not that Gates prat! She loves you anyway, James! Don't do this to yourself! Go kill off that "wizard," if you could call him that. Then you will have Lily all to yourself. _James shook his head. _KILL HIM? That's DEFINITELY not an option!_ Suddenly his face broke into a grin. _Killing him off is too harsh, _he thought smugly. _But a few…_harmless_ things won't hurt, will they?_ He walked briskly towards the portrait hole, heading for the library. Suddenly, Lily popped into the room, from the portrait hole. She gasped when she saw James.

"POTTER! Oh! You're here…oh. Well, I, uh, we-" she stuttered, trying to sound casual.

"Excuse me, Evans. _We? _Who is _we-_" James suddenly caught sight of Andrew Gates, clutching Lily's hand lovingly. His face fell, then broke out with rage.

"Erm…hi there, James!" said Andrew awkwardly, mentally praying James didn't kill him on the spot.

James smirked, nodding his head. "Oh, I see," he snickered. "You two decided to come here for a bit of a snogging session, did you? A bit more private? Well, I suppose I'll just get out of your way. I was heading to the library anyway. For some – Defense Against the Dark Arts books," he grinned maliciously.

Lily blushed, staring determinedly at the floor. "Er…that's wrong, Potter! We weren't going to – I mean, we weren't – we're not…we're…erm…studying. You've got us wrong."

James rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid, Evans. I've done that routine quite a few times myself, you know," he smirked, trying not to look completely nerdy and helpless.

"I'm sure you have, Potter. If all of those school rumours are true…anyway, you said you had to go to the library, so…could you please leave?"

James bowed dramatically. "Your wish is my command. See you, _Gates_," James quickly left the room, scowling.

Lily sighed, relieved. "He's _finally_ gone. So, Andrew. What do you say about some…_studying_?" she grinned at him, stepping closer, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He smiled. "Sure. I could use some…_tutoring_." He pulled in towards her, and kissed her. She returned the kiss, making it quite long. Lily forcefully pushed Andrew onto the couch, and sat on his lap, still kissing him. He was quite a good kisser – she always enjoyed their "snogging sessions." Yet for some reason, she could not shake this nagging feeling, that something was wrong.

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James searched frantically, weaving in and out of the rows of bookshelves in the library.

"Hexes, hexes…H…or maybe they would be under curses?" he muttered under his breath, scanning the bookshelves. At last, he stopped, pulling out a particularly heavy book. "Finally found it," he said blissfully. "_How to Get Revenge on Worst Enemies, Exes, or People You Just Can't Stand._" He quickly found a vacant table and leafed through the pages interestedly. "Bubbling Backs…Malicious Maiming…Evil Excellence…Sorrowful Slamming…AHA! PERFECT!" he shouted, as he found the correct chapter. Madame Pince glared at him evilly. He rolled his eyes, taking notes on the particular chapter. He closed the book, and put it back on the appropriate shelf. "Wickedly brilliant," he muttered, bursting with pride. _Wait until I tell Padfoot about this_, he thought mischievously.

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James Potter silently followed Andrew Gates into the Charms corridor, which was almost completely deserted. Sirius was quietly following behind James in the invisibility cloak. James turned around and winked at him, symbolizing it was time. Suddenly, James sprang forward, blocking Andrew's path.

"So, Gates. Dating Evans now, huh?" James asked casually.

Andrew snickered. "Yeah. So sorry it isn't you snogging her in the corridors."

"Shut it, Gates."

"Ooooh! A little sensitive for you, Potter? Can't handle _rejection_ very well, can you, now?" Andrew smirked. James was surprised at how different he was when he wasn't around Lily.

"I TOLD YOU TO _SHUT UP_, GATES!"

"You're just jealous that I'll be shagging Lily before you – that is, if you _ever_shag her," Andrew said, looking smug. Behind James, Sirius cursed viciously, growling, "If you don't kill him now, Prongs, I will!" Sirius strongly believed in respecting women, and their decisions, despite his "women record."

James glared at Andrew through gritted teeth. "_Take that back. NOW!_"

"Of course I won't, Potter. You know as well as I that it's only a matter of time before I can get her in bed. Imagine the talk around school. It will make me even more popular. Can you get that through your thick skull, Potter?" Andrew spat. "It will be _me_ shagging Lily, not _you_. In fact, I was thinking about doing it next week…want to come along for a show, Potter?" he snickered.

James glared at him, and grabbed Andrew with one hand by his collar, slamming him against the hard stone wall. Andrew turned pale. "TAKE THAT BACK, GATES! NOW! SHE DESERVES MORE RESPECT!"

Andrew smirked, determined to keep his composure. "I won't take it back. Because it will happen, just you watch. All I have to do is butter her up a bit more – 'OH LILY! YOU ARE THE PRETTIEST GIRL I HAVE EVER SEEN!'" he mocked.

"GATES! YOU WILL _NOT_ SHAG LILY-" James hadn't even noticed he had used her first name. "NOT UNLESS SHE'S READY, GOT IT?"

"I'll shag her when I'm good and ready, thanks."

James slammed Andrew against the wall again, this time harder, tightening his grasp around his throat. "GATES! I will do _anything_ it takes to keep Evans out of harms way. I will _always_ be there to protect her from shallow gits like you, got it? I'm warning you now-"

"Like you're a match against me. Anyway, I've got Lily brainwashed, so even if she _didn't_ want to shag, she would anyway." Andrew gave James a smug and defiant look.

James had had it. "YOU FOUL, LOATHSOME, ARROGANT, USING ASSHOLE! _NEVER_ TALK ABOUT EVANS LIKE THAT! I WON'T HAVE IT!" Andrew just smirked at him, as if he knew something James didn't. "DON'T YOU _DARE_ GIVE ME THAT SMIRK! HOW DARE YOU PLAY EVANS, GATES! SHE DESERVES BETTER THAN A PRAT LIKE YOU! YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, GATES, THAT WHEN YOU MESS WITH LILY, YOU MESS WITH _ME!_" James pointed his wand directly at Andrew, who stared back at him in shock, not knowing what to do. Almost immediately, acne started popping up all over Andrew's face, and he grew a pig's nose, and a pig's tail as well (_How to Get Revenge on Worst Enemies, Exes, or People You Just Can't Stand_ turned out to be quite useful). Andrew was sent up into the air by James' wand, then almost immediately he slammed back down to the ground. James continued this, quite entertained, until he heard someone screech in alarm directly behind him.

"POTTER!" James groaned. He knew that voice all too well…

"POTTER! WHAT THE _HELL_ ARE YOU DOING TO ANDREW, MY _BOYFRIEND?_ WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU TO DESERVE THIS? NOTHING, THAT'S WHAT! You're stupid pride was damaged, so you had to take it out on _poor Andrew!_" Lily glared at him, then quickly rushed over to Andrew. "Andrew, honey! Are you alright? Let's take you to the hospital wing right now! I can't believe you, Potter. Of all the stupid things you've done, this has to be the worst," Lily said to James. Andrew smirked at James (although it didn't make as much of a statement as he thought, as he had blood dripping down his face), whispering, "one week till shagging time, Potter. Ah, don't you just love status quo?" he winked. James leapt at him, but Sirius quickly held him back, still covered by the invisibility cloak. James jumped in surprise. He had forgotten Sirius was there. Sirius quickly uncovered himself, his mouth open in shock.

"That _bastard!_" He said, not even thinking about his language. "He's more shag obsessed than I am! Oi, Prongs. For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing…more or less. That little cockroach! _What scum! _What a _worthless, crappy, miserable, filthy little-_"

James grinned. "Thanks, Padfoot. I think I've got it. He's an ass. And Evans doesn't even know what he's trying to do," he frowned. Under no circumstances was he going to allow Andrew to have his way with her. He couldn't bear to see Lily heartbroken and used. He paced the corridor, thinking, Sirius staring at him worriedly, thinking of his own plans to foil Andrew. Suddenly, James stopped pacing and sighed. "There's nothing we can do, Padfoot. Evans will never believe us – and Andrew will stick to his plan no doubt, seeing as he has absolutely no conscience." Sirius and James sighed, deeply regretting their helplessness.

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Dear Journal,

Potter is SUCH A JERK! I CAN'T STAND HIM! Today, I found him slamming poor Andrew against the floor! And he was ENTERTAINED! AMUSED! And he did this just because his stupid pride was broken, because I chose Andrew instead of him. It's obvious to me now that I made the right decision. Imagine me dating Potter, of all the conceited jerks in the world! Andrew is doing alright now. He's in the hospital wing, poor thing. He said Potter just sprang up from behind and started throwing him in the air! Sounds like something Potter would do. I can't believe him. And to think he was almost my _friend!_ Luckily, he didn't do permanent damage. You think you know a person, eh?

I've decided to visit Andrew during all my free periods, to make sure he is doing alright. He is so sweet. The first thing he said to me was, "Are you alright, Lily? He didn't do anything to you, too, did he?" He didn't even complain about the pain he was in! He is the SWEETEST sometimes, isn't he? I can't wait for our date at Hogsmeade next week! Andrew said he is planning something really special. I can't wait!

I got a letter from my parents today – they're doing alright. No Death Eater threats or anything, which is good. Petunia is spending more and more time at her boyfriend, Vernon's, house. Strange to think how someone would even _want_ someone like Petunia around constantly. Ah, well. I suppose everyone has different tastes. I am very thankful there hasn't been any suspicious behavior around my parents' house.

I'm going to go visit Andrew again. More later.

Lily


	13. The Insanity of Sirius Black

Sirius Black was slowly going insane. _You can't ask her out!_ He thought. _She's your best mate's love's friend! Wait…did that even make _sense?_ Oh well. Prongs'll hate it!_ He thought frantically. _SO WHAT IF HE HATES IT!_ He countered. _Like I care what Prongs thinks…I won't need him if I have her…her beautiful hair…those eyes…that scent of cherry blossoms that seems to radiate from her very soul…_He inhaled, as if trying to relive that scent. Quickly, he snapped back out of his trance. _NO! YOU MUSN'T GO OUT WITH HER, SIRIUS! AND THAT'S FINAL! Friends are first, right?_ Sirius' eyes suddenly lit up. _What if I ask Prong's permission first? _

_YOU DON'T NEED HIS PERMISSION!_ He thought exasperatedly. _You're SIRIUS BLACK! No one tells _you_ what to do! _

Sirius nodded his head. _Right. RIGHT! YEAH! But still…what if she says no? She's friends with Prongs, and everyone _loves_ Prongs…_

_SHE LOVES YOU, SIRIUS! GO FOR IT!_

_What if Prongs beats me up?_

_Tell on him._

_YOU'RE BLOODY MAD! I can't tell on Prongs! That's just so…_snitch-like!

_I suppose you're right,_ he thought to himself as he nodded his head in agreement to something James was saying, not taking in a word of it. _But still! GO FOR IT! Prongs loves Evans anyway, so you don't have to worry about that._

_HE'S MY BEST MATE!_

_So?_

_So. SO? HE'S MY BEST MATE! YOU _HAVE_ GONE BLOODY MAD!_

_Do you do _everything_ Prongs tells you to do?_

_Of course I don't!_ Sirius said indignantly to himself, giving James a grunt, symbolizing he had heard him (even though he really hadn't).

_Sure. Right. You keep telling yourself that, Sirius, man._

_WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?_ Sirius thought. _I've gone insane! I'm ARGUING WITH MYSELF!_

_You started it._

_DID NOT!_

_Did too._

_DID NOT DID NOT DID NOT!_

_Did too._

_SHUT UP! _He thought furiously to his more…_insane_ self.

_Fine. But go for it, mate. Just do it._

Sirius was highly concerned that he had just called himself "mate." Suddenly, he looked up to see James snapping his fingers in front of his face.

"Padfoot? PADFOOT! Where are you, man?" said James, his eyes full of concern.

"What – where – who? Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I'm here. Sorry. Go on," replied Sirius distractedly.

James glanced at him suspiciously. "Er…ok. Well, anyway, I've got that detention tonight for beating the crap out of Gates. But, you know, to me, it's definitely worth it. Ah…good times," James grinned. Suddenly, his grin turned into a deep frown, his eyebrows furrowed. "But…now Evans loathes me again…so it was kind of like a 'pick and choose' kind of thing…I guess I picked the wrong thing. I still dunno what to do about Gates. SIX DAYS, PADFOOT, SIX DAYS! Damn. If I have to follow them into that room in my invisibility cloak, I will. I won't allow Lily to go through this. That low, cowardly PRAT! No one deserves to be used like that!"

Sirius smiled wryly. "I know, mate. But there's nothing we can do! Evans will just have to do what she thinks is right. Don't worry. There is no doubt in my mind that she'll make the right decision. And plus, no one has a chance if they're up against one of her hexes," he grinned, recalling when she had turned him into a chicken in their third year.

James sighed. "I just wished there was something I could do."

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James Potter frantically scrubbed the floor of the Potion's classroom, thinking about what he could do about Andrew. He would never admit it to Sirius, but he was actually getting sort of…_guilty_ about what he had done to Andrew. _No doubt, he definitely deserves it_, he thought. _But it was really rather harsh…not to mention Evans hates me again. _He suddenly grinned to himself. _Although it _was _rather fun. And he definitely needed a reality check. I suppose I should apologize – even if I _do _think he's an unworthy ass._

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"Andrew? Andrew, honey! I'm going to go now, it's really rather late! I shouldn't have sneaked down in the first place! It's past curfew. I'll come back tomorrow, sweetheart." Lily bent down to quickly peck Andrew on the cheek. He was still in the hospital wing, after what had happened with James. Lily quietly stood up, and stealthily made her way to the doors. Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming. She cursed and ran across the room, hiding out in Madame Pomfrey's vacant office. She listened as the footsteps got closer, then suddenly stopped. She turned her head so she could hear what the person was saying.

"Erm…Gates? Er…well. Hi. Uh, well…I guess I just came here to say that I'm…well…I'm-" the person suddenly coughed, trying to gain more time. "I'm…_sorry_," the person admitted painstakingly. Lily gasped. She knew that voice. It was –

"Potter. You didn't have to come here. I don't want your apology. Just go away," Andrew said in a harsh tone that completely surprised Lily.

"Er, right," said James awkwardly. "I don't want to be here, either, you know. I just thought that you really deserved an apology. I'm genuinely sorry for what I did to you – even if you _did_ deserve it," James said through gritted teeth.

"Get out of here, Potter. Just leave me alone, alright?" Andrew spat. Lily was again astonished at Andrew's behaviour. _Well, I suppose it is justified. After what Potter did to him_, she thought reasonably, not wanting to admit that Andrew was acting horrible to James.

"I going, alright? I just wanted to apologize. Even if you are a cowardly, rotten, thick piece of scum." And with that, James walked away, and out of the hospital wing, scowling with frustration. Lily waited a few minutes more before heading back to the common room herself, making sure Andrew was fast asleep.

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Dear Journal,

_Wow._ Potter apologized to Andrew today. In the hospital wing. He didn't know I was there – neither did Andrew. What is strange is that _Potter_ was being civilized, and Andrew wasn't. Andrew was being downright cruel! _What_ has gotten into him lately?

No word from my parents. I am not too worried, though. I've just heard from them, and they seemed fine, and quite safe.

Lily.


	14. Two Different Paths

Lily Evans entered the Great Hall quite groggily, having just woken up a few minutes prior. She stretched and yawned, then made her way next to Whitney and Paige. They chattered merrily, then suddenly someone from behind Lily spoke up.

"Why hello, Evans. And how are you on this lovely day?" James asked, grinning.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Alright, Potter. And you?" She had forgiven James a bit, after he had apologized to Andrew.

James sat down across from her casually, pompously rumpling his hair. "Alright, I suppose. Much better now that I'm with you," he winked.

"POTTER! Can't you give it a rest?" Lily scowled. "I have a boyfriend now, you know!"

James gazed at her innocently. "So?" Sirius grinned, full of pride for his best friend. _I am so very proud of him. I've definitely had a lot of influence on him!_ He thought.

Lily laughed, surprising herself. "That is just like you, Potter. Always breaking the rules. Of course, you're James Potter! The usual rules don't apply to _you_," she grinned, teasing him.

James puffed out his chest, beaming with pride. That was exactly how he had always wanted to be seen. Lily laughed again, then quickly stopped and covered her mouth, blushing. Suddenly, the owls flew into the Great Hall for their morning deliveries. Lily had always loved watching the spectacle of all the owls swooping in on their recipients, almost always making something comical happen. A large, vividly white owl swooped down onto James' shoulder, sticking out his leg, giving James the _Daily Prophet_. Soon after, one of the _Prophet_'s owls perched on Lily's breakfast plate, nipping at her arm, sticking one of his legs out. On his leg was a tiny coin purse. Lily quickly shoved a knut into the coin purse, and the owl flew away. Without glancing at her _Daily Prophet_, she went back to her breakfast, careful to inspect her plate for any remaining owl feathers first. Suddenly, James' once happy face turned grim, and pale with shock. He had a strong hold on the _Daily Prophet_, and as he kept reading, his face got even paler, until he was almost paper white. Lily gazed at him in concern, not quite sure what was going on with him. He looked up at Lily in horror, giving her a strange look.

"Er…Lil-Evans. I think you should…er…read the front page. Now," he said nervously, unable to look her in the eye.

Lily stared at James, amused. "Why, Potter? I mean, nothing amusing is ever in the _Prophet._ It's all about some new Ministry code, or what to do when an augrey attacks. Hardly ever is there something substantial-"

"Lily. Please read it. I – I think, as hard as it will be for you, it's for the best," James gulped.

Lily, taken aback by the fact James used her first name, quickly picked up her _Daily Prophet_, giving James a strange look. _It must be serious if he's using my first name, _she thought. _I hope nothings happened._ She turned her head to read the first headline:

_MUGGLE COUPLE SLAIN_

_Last night, a muggle couple was killed by the growing Dark Wizard "Voldemort." According to witnesses, the couple, Abigail and John Evans, were killed around 9:28 p.m., in their home. Their magical daughter, Lily Evans, is safely attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Their muggle daughter, Petunia Evans, survived by sheer luck. At the time of the two murders, she was at her boyfriend, Vernon Dursley's, home, having sneaked out of her house. She is very shaken by recent events, and will be living with the late Mrs. Evans' sister. As of press time, we have had no word from Lily Evans of her parent's murder. _

_According to the Evans' neighbors, "a strange man barged through their door. He had this evil smirk on his face. Then, he walked into the sitting room (I saw it through the window). John was there. I saw John hastily snatch up a club from the table. He must have assumed something like this would happen. Strangely enough, the man was only armed with a long stick, which he was pointing at John. I heard John scream, 'MY LILY TOLD ME ABOUT YOU! I refuse to just watch you kill my family! I won't have it, sir!' Then, he started beating the intruder with his bat, hitting any body part he could find. The strange man muttered something, and John was suddenly flown across the room. Then there was a brilliant flash of green light, and John keeled over. The man laughed – not a normal laugh, but the laugh of a madman. He then made his way upstairs. I heard Abigail scream, and shout, "NO!" It was the type of bloodcurdling scream you could never forget. It was high-pitched, and full of fear and surprise. But then her voice was cut off. Even from the next house, I could hear the man's hysterical laughter once more. After that, this strange…_thing_ sprouted from the house. It was green, and looked quite disturbing. Then I heard this loud POP."_

_Muggle onlookers called for what they call "police." These "police" are almost like aurors, except nonmagical. These "police," as they call them, then called the muggle minister, who called the Ministry of Magic. People from the Ministry were at the Evan's home at once. They modified the muggle spectators' memories, and camouflaged the "Dark Mark," as it has started to be called. They brought young Petunia Evans to her aunt's home, and then continued to search for the reason the Evans were killed. Strangely, no other families were killed. Also, Voldemort _himself_ killed them, making this a significant killing. He must have had a reason for their murder. The Minister of Magic said at a press conference, "We would like to take this time to advise all members of the magical society to _be alert._ This wizard, nicknamed Voldemort, is gaining power. He's unstoppable. We would strongly suggest that you report any strange behavior _immediately_. There is a madman on the loose. The sooner we catch him, the less casualties there will be. Please, stay alert and be cautious, especially those of you who are muggle born." The Ministry also publicly announced that they had received an anonymous tip, telling them the whereabouts of this "Voldemort." They are absolutely certain that they will catch him soon, and the random and vicious massacres will cease. However, the Daily Prophet would like to advise you to not get your hopes up. The Ministry has lied to us many times before. This "tip-off" could possibly just be a publicity stunt. Please do not believe anything until it has been confirmed and you actually see a picture of this "Voldemort" in an Azkaban prison cell._

_Abigail Evans donated her time to many muggle charities. She was known as smart, kind, and loving amongst her family and friends. She was always boasting about her daughter, Lily Evans. "She was ever so proud of Lily," sobbed a close friend of Abigail's. "She said she was the smartest student at her boarding school. She said she learned all sorts of unique things. Abigail loved her family so very much. She would do anything for them. We will all miss her deeply." _

_John Evans also had a strong love for his family. He was protective of them, and he was determined to keep them safe. "I remember when his young Lily mentioned a young man from her school, by the name of Potter, I believe," recalled a colleague of John's. "Lily was about fifteen then. She was saying how stupid and immature this 'Potter' was, but John knew she secretly liked him. He told her he would simply not have it, and if 'this young man wants to date you, he will have to be respectful and sit through an interview with me first!'" The Daily Prophet offers their condolences to Lily and Petunia Evans, along with the other relatives and friends of the late Abigail and John Evans._

By now, Lily's hands were shaking so much, James had to reach out and steady them. He gazed into her sad, helpless eyes, then looked away, not able to bear it. Lily shakily stood up from the table, having to squeeze her eyes shut to hold in the tears. "I-I have to go now. Excuse me." She ran out of the Great Hall, her hands covering her face. James, looking heart broken, ran out of the Great Hall after her. Sirius furrowed his eyebrows, quite confused.

"What is going on? What did I miss?" he asked.

Remus rolled his eyes. "The _Daily Prophet_, you idiot!" He pointed to the headline on James' abandoned paper.

Sirius quickly read the article and dropped it in shock. "_Bloody hell_."

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Lily Evans was sitting in an empty broom closet, sobbing. _I had just heard from them!_ She thought. _They sounded safe and alert! And now – and now they're dead! I'll never talk to them again! I'll never have a mother. My father will never walk me down the aisle at my wedding._ She paused. Strangely enough, when she thought about her future wedding, James' image came into her mind. She shook off the thought, and continued to sob uncontrollably. _Thank goodness Petunia is alive. I never thought I would say this, but I don't know what I would do if she weren't here. Then again, I said the same thing earlier this year about my parents. _Lily sobbed even louder, memories of her parents flooding back to her all at once; the time they had come to Hogwarts for Prefect's Parent's Visiting Day, beaming with pride. Her recent seventeenth birthday, when they let her seriously mangle their appearance, just so she could use her new magical privileges. The day her first Hogwarts acceptance letter came in the mail. Lily smiled. They were so proud of her that day – confused, but very proud. Unlike Petunia, they were believers, which makes all the difference. More memories came flooding to her. _No. NO! I DON'T WANT THESE NOW! MAKE THEM STOP!_ She thought, trying to close her mind from anything that would cause her pain. It didn't work, the memories kept coming; the time she had gotten so angry at Petunia, Petunia's hair magically disappeared. Petunia had screamed bloody murder, and her mum came to see what the commotion was about. Her mum had just stood there, laughing, seemingly proud of Lily, however evil it was. The time when Lily had gotten "the talk." "If there is ever anything you need to ask me, feel free," her mother had said. _Well, now I can't! _Lily thought, her temper rising. _WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME? WHY? I'M JUST SEVENTEEN! I NEED A MOTHER!_ She lay on the floor of the broom cupboard, now completely giving up on resisting the memories. She remembered when her mother had seen a picture Sirius had quickly taken of the kiss Lily had shared with James by the lake in fifth year (Sirius was the only other person who knew about the kiss). "Is this your boyfriend? He is rather cute, isn't he, Lilypops?" her mother had said, grinning at Lily's mortification. "No, mum. He's not. That kiss was just one moment, that will never happen again," Lily had replied, snapping at her mother. Lily now regretted all the horrible, cruel things she had said to her mother when she was alive. _And now, I'll never get to apologize. WHY COULDN'T THEY HAVE BEEN CAREFUL? I warned them at Platform 9 and 3/4!_ Lily cried even louder, not caring if anyone heard her from the outside world. _M-maybe they mistook the bodies as my parent's, _she thought hopefully. _Maybe they are really still alive! They can't be dead! They can't do this to me! They love me too much! I need them!_ She sobbed, now out of breath, her nose running. Suddenly, the door to the broom cupboard opened, and James Potter stepped inside, nervously ruffling his hair. Lily stared at him in alarm, hastily trying to dry her face, and take away the evidence of her crying.

James took a few steps towards her. "Listen, Lily," he started, thinking using her first name was proper at a time like this. "I'm – I'm _really sorry_. It's just horrible, what happened. I don't know what I would do if I were you. I would probably lose my mind."

Lily nodded her head graciously. "Th-thanks for your concern, Potter," she said, trying bravely to hold back the tears.

James smiled warmly at her, taking a few steps closer again. "Listen. I'm here _anytime_ you need me. And I mean that. And don't worry, I won't try anything funny, and I won't ask you out. It will just be a friend – to – friend conversation. I'm always here for you Lily. _Always._"

Lily looked up at him, appreciative of his support. Suddenly, many emotions erupted inside of her, and she flung her arms around his neck, sobbing mercilessly. He staggered backwards out of surprise, but quickly regained his balance, trying not to breathe in Lily's beautiful scent. He silently stroked her hair. "Shhh. It's ok. I'm here. You're going to be alright, don't you worry," he whispered softly in her ear.

"JAMES! EVERYTHINGS RUINED! I'm having second thoughts about Andrew-" James lifted his head slightly out of joy. "And – and now my parents are _gone_! I'll n-n-n-never see them again! I CAN'T DO IT! I CAN'T! WHY, JAMES, WHY?"

It broke James' heart to see Lily like this. He rocked her back and forth, still stroking her hair. "I don't know why, Lily. Some people in this world are completely heartless, and they strive to cause pain to as many people as possible. Then again, most evil wizards are just afraid – afraid of death, afraid of feelings, afraid of failure. In reality, they're all just a bunch of cowards, taking the easy way out," he said, deciding to be honest with her. She buried her face into his chest. They each immediately received a warm feeling. "Listen, Lily," James continued. "There are some really dark times ahead. And we're all going to have to choose a path – either the right one, or the wrong one. We won't know which one is the right road, until we're already well down it. Just remember: sometimes the right path is not necessarily the easiest." Lily nodded her head, tears silently falling down her face.

"J-James? Did you…er…d-d-did you mean it when you said you'd always be there?" Lily asked, poking her head up.

James smiled wryly. "I'll always be here, Lily. You can always count on me, for better or for worse."

"Th-thanks. That m-m-means a lot to me," she sniffed, going back to crying, this time completely letting it out, sobbing uncontrollably, and worse than before. James continued to rock her back and forth, offering words of comfort every now and then. But most of the time, he just held her as she cried, letting her know he was always there for her.

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My parents are dead. At least that's what they are all saying. But I don't believe it. They can't be dead. They were too aware, too alert. They would have saved themselves for me. They wouldn't have just left me here, all alone, an orphan. I miss them. No matter how much I try to convince myself that they're still alive, I have this gut feeling that they're not. I hate them. I HATE THEM! Why would they do this to me? I can't stand them! I'm their daughter! They said they loved me! I refuse to think about them right now. I can't. I'm too mad at them.

Potter was really nice. He held me for at least three hours straight, trying to calm me down. He let me cry in his shirt. He didn't even try anything, which surprised me. I think I feel more comfortable with him now…but not _that_ way. I don't think it will ever be that way with us. Andrew never even came to see me, even though he was released from the hospital wing this afternoon. He didn't even talk to me _once_. Whereas Potter was with me all day. I think I am having second thoughts about Andrew. I suppose we'll just have to see about him. Potter and I used each other's first names again today – but I think today, it was just because it seemed proper. It seemed right.

I need a distraction – anything. I can't think about them. They betrayed me. Even if they _are_ really alive, they betrayed me. I don't think I'll ever forgive them.

Me.


	15. A MiniJames

Lily walked down the stairs to the Entrance Hall, Paige and Whitney surrounding her as a sort of protective barrier. They had been very understanding since three days ago, when Lily found out about her parents' death. James was understanding, too. Sometimes, in their common room, he and Lily would just sit and talk about her parents – well, more like Lily talked, James listened. Andrew had finally talked to Lily – but he didn't even mention her parents. All he wanted to do was kiss. Lily knew he must have known about her parents' death, because lately, it was all anyone could talk about. There was an increased tension between houses – mainly, everyone against Slytherin. Everyone feared the Ministry wouldn't find "Voldemort" soon, as they promised.

Just as Lily was reaching the final step into the Entrance Hall, someone put a forceful hand on her shoulder. She gasped, and turned around to see who it was. Severus Snape was sneering down at her.

"Oh. Severus. Did you want something, then?" she asked him, trying to sound calm.

Snape smirked. "I just wanted to say that I am _so_ sorry about your parents, Evans."

Lily blinked innocently. "Oh…Er...thanks," she said, not aware that he was being sarcastic.

Snape sneered. "Oh yeah. No problem. It must be quite frightening for all you mudbloods – you don't know who will be killed next. Personally, I'm thankful Voldemort did it. The world could use some cleansing. We don't need useless muggles – which, no doubt, your parents were."

Lily closed her eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath, and continued to walk into the Entrance Hall, trying to ignore Snape. He grabbed her arm, and squeezed it threateningly.

"Can't handle a few words of healthy criticism? My, my. That won't do, will it, Evans? You're just as weak as your parents were, you know that? Hell. I doubt they even _tried_ to save themselves for you. You're not worth it," Snape snickered.

"Snape. Please, just leave me alone. I don't have time for this-"

"_You_ don't have time for _me_? Goodness, Evans. You better start respecting your superiors. That's probably why your parents were killed. If you don't watch out, you could be next – a filthy mudblood like you-"

"SNIVELLUS! SHUT. UP!" Suddenly, Snape was thrown against the wall by a tall, muscular young man with messy black hair. James Potter.

"_POTTER!_ This – is – not – about you," glared Snape, gasping for air, as James tightened his grip around his neck.

"Anything concerning Evans is about me too, _Snivellus_. Leave her _alone_!" spat James, still holding Snape against the hard, stone wall.

"Ah. I see. Grief has brought you together. How very _touching_," Snape managed to smirk while breathing heavily. Lily turned red, and looked down at the floor. James glared at Snape, his eyes filled full with hate.

"You vile, cruel, disgusting _git_!" James glowered, now pulling out his wand. Suddenly, Lily put her hand on James arm – causing a tingling sensation for both of them.

Lily shook off the feeling. "Potter! Don't you dare! He's not worth it!" Lily warned.

James stared at her for a moment, then dropped Snape to the ground carelessly. "This is your last warning, Snivelly. Next time, you die." And with that, James walked away, careful to make sure he kicked Snape as many times as he could with it still looking casual.

Lily glared down at Snape. "You _prat_. Hell, you're worse than _he_ is!" She pointed to James walking away. Suddenly, her expression changed from hatred to pity. "Here, let me help you up," she offered her hand to Snape. Begrudgingly, he took it, glaring at Lily nonetheless. Once his feet were firmly on the ground, Lily punched him square in the nose, to the shock of the many student spectators. Lily beamed as Snape fell to the ground again in shock, his nose bleeding profusely. She walked away from him, her head up with pride. Paige and Whitney followed, making sure to step on top of him as they walked away, causing him to groan in pain.

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"She WHAT?" asked James in awe.

"I'm telling you, mate! I saw it with my own eyes! She hit him square in the nose! It was brilliant," Sirius beamed. Anything that caused Snape pain was alright with him.

James sat on Sirius' bed, trying to soak in this information. Lily. Harming someone. On _purpose_. He shook his head in disbelief. "No way. You're _sure_ it was her?"

Sirius nodded his head, grinning at his friend's shock. "It was _perfect_. Hit him right in the bridge of his nose. He was stunned. Fell to the ground again. You'd better watch out, Prongs. She's getting better than you."

James rolled his eyes. "I do believe I've had a bad influence on her," he said cockily.

"Shame it's not the other way round," Remus muttered.

Sirius chortled with laughter. "Like _that_ would ever happen," he snorted.

"Oh shut it, Padfoot," James blushed, throwing a pillow at Sirius. This resulted in a large, vicious pillow fight, casualties being broken fingers, and elongated noses.

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Lily entered her common room, still in shock about what she had done – yet proud of herself nonetheless. She stopped in mild surprise as she saw James sitting on one of the couches. He grinned at her surprise. She glared back, blushing slightly.

"POTTER! Can you _ever_ just leave poor Severus _alone_? Just _once_? Do you think it is possible that you could stop being arrogant for _one second_?" She groaned, half teasing, half angrily.

"I could say the same to you, Evans," he beamed. "I heard what you did to Snivelly after I left. I am _extremely_ proud of you. Well done. You know, you're becoming a mini-me," he winked. "I've always wanted a twin!"

Lily smiled, then quickly covered it up with a scowl. "POTTER! I am _not_ becoming a mini-you! I never _will_ become a mini-you! That's so…_repulsing_!"

James stared at her in mock indignation. "HEY! I'm not _that_ disgusting!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "You keep thinking that, Potter." She quickly walked into her room, leaving James staring after her.

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Dear Journal,

They're all right. My parents really _are _dead. At first, I kept up hope that they were still hiding out somewhere, waiting until all the publicity died down. But now, it's hopeless. They're dead. They're really gone. I can't believe they did this to me! They just – _left me_, without another word! I never even got to say goodbye. I guess they never really loved me after all. If they did, they wouldn't have left me all alone like this. No one understands what I'm going through. They all pretend they do, but they don't. How can they? I hate my parents. I HATE THEM! They never listened to me when I warned them about this "Voldemort." I hate Voldemort for doing this to them. Maybe they all made a plot to make my life miserable. It sounds like what they might do. I can't believe them all. They're absolutely horrid, all of them; mum, dad, and "Voldemort." They left me all alone. Now I have nowhere to go after graduation. There's never going to be someone there to make me calm down. They just left me. Without saying a word of it! They were so _stupid_! They could have run away! For me, at least! But they didn't. I can't believe I ever said I loved them.

Potter and I beat the crap out of Snape today. It was quite fun. Tomorrow, Dumbledore wants to see me in his office – probably something about my horrible parents.

Lily


	16. Toothflossing Stringmints

"Toothflossing Stringmints," Lily said to the gargoyle statues. They immediately let her through. She walked up the moving staircase to Dumbledore's office. She made her way towards the door, then stopped. There were people inside Dumbledore's office. She stood outside the door, not wanting to interrupt. As must as she resisted, she couldn't help but overhearing.

"BAGNOLD! THERE IS A DAMN KILLER ON THE LOOSE!" a man shouted gruffly to Minister of Magic Millicent Bagnold.

"I am sure Ms. Bagnold is aware of that, Alastor," said Dumbledore calmly. "However, the _reason_ I brought you here today is-"

"INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE BEING KILLED! BECAUSE _SHE_ WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!" shouted Moody. "POOR LITTLE EVANS IS AN ORPHAN BECAUSE BAGNOLD DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT VOLDEMORT!" Lily gasped, surprised at the mention of her name. Moody and Bagnold started bickering loudly.

"ENOUGH!" Dumbledore bellowed. At once, both Moody and Bagnold silenced. Dumbledore held such power over people. "Now. Back to _why_ I brought you here. We all know the Ministry has received a tip-off of the current locations of Tom Riddle, widely known as Voldemort. They reported Tom is going to be at the Ministry _tonight_, searching for a catastrophic weapon. We need _protection_, even if this was a false tip. Alastor, I brought you here because you are the most successful auror of your time. Bagnold – well, you _are_ the Minister of Magic. So. Any suggestions?"

"Well, the public absolutely _cannot_ know about this. It would wreak absolute havoc!" exclaimed Bagnold indignantly.

"Well, _obviously_, Bagnold. Don't be so thick. Albus is talking about _protection and security_, so Voldemort won't get what he's looking for!" Moody said exasperatedly.

"Yes, thank you, Alastor. Now. Any ideas?" Dumbledore asked calmly. There was a long pause, and for a moment, Lily had the strange sensation that someone was staring at her.

"We'll have to brainstorm another time, Dumbledore. I believe we have a visitor," Moody grunted. Lily's eyes widened in surprise, as the door flew open.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at Lily. "Ah, yes. We do. Well, Minister, Alastor, I will talk with you two later."

Moody nodded, and walked towards the door, then paused as he looked at Lily. "I am so sorry to hear about your parents, Miss Evans. I've heard that they were wonderful people." Lily smiled wryly and nodded her head. With that, Bagnold and Moody left Dumbledore's office, bickering with each other yet again. Dumbledore sat in the chair behind his desk, studying Lily closely. He then gestured for her to take a seat. She did so.

"So, Miss Evans. I am terribly sorry about your loss. I just thought that I would share some information with you. About why your parents were killed."

Lily's eyes widened in surprise, but she nodded. "Al-alright. Er…thank you, headmaster."

"You're parents weren't killed simply because you're a muggle born witch. They were killed because you are a threat. Tom and his supporters believe that as soon as you graduate, you will fight against them. And once you _do_fight against them, it will be very hard for them to overcome you, because you are so talented. Killing your parents was Tom's way of warning you."

Lily assumed "Tom" was Voldemort. They were quiet for a moment, allowing Lily to think about what Dumbledore had just said. "S-so…if I fight against him, h-he'll kill me?" she asked shakily.

Dumbledore's eyes lost a bit of their normal twinkle. "Well, if you fought against him, he would kill you anyway. But _you_ in particular, yes. You're known as the most talented witch of your time, you know."

Lily looked up curiously. "Who's the smartest wizard of my age?"

Dumbledore beamed. "James Potter, of course."

Lily gasped in alarm, then rolled her eyes. "Are you _quite_ sure of that, Headmaster?"

"You should give him more credit, Miss Evans. He is quite smart. I believe, that together, you two will do incredible things that lesser humans can only imagine."

Lily snorted. "Do we have to be _together?_"

Dumbledore's eyes beamed excitedly. "Well, I believe you know the muggle saying 'opposites attract'? It seems to apply here, does it not?"

"If you don't mind, Headmaster, could we get back to the point of this meeting?" Lily blushed.

Dumbledore nodded. "But of course. I just wanted to warn you to be aware of your surroundings constantly. You and Mr. Potter will be wonderful targets for them after you graduate. Simply stated, they will either try to kill you, or try to get you two on their side. Please, Miss Evans, do not do anything foolish that will put you in danger. It would be a great grievance to the entire Wizarding community to hear about your death."

Lily flinched, very uncomfortable. "Er…right. Well, if that's all, Headmaster-"

"Yes, yes. Thank you for meeting me. And remember my warning," Dumbledore said solemnly, searching into her eyes. Lily fidgeted, then quickly left Dumbledore's office.

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Lily sat on her bed, thinking about the day's events. _Potter is the SMARTEST WIZARD OF OUR AGE? No way. Remus, maybe. But not POTTER! So…Potter and I will be…_targets?_ Which means, pretty much, that they'll kill us some time or another. That's a happy thought, isn't it? I cannot believe Dumbledore thinks Potter and I could be a great team someday. I hope that never happens! Andrew and I will be a great team, more like. At least he finally talked to me about my parents. He is just SO sweet sometimes!_ Lily suddenly thought about her parents' death, a topic she had been trying to avoid. _I hate them all. I hate Voldemort, I hate mum, I hate dad. I don't think I'll even go to the funeral! They definitely do not deserve it. And I certainly hope they catch Voldemort tonight – and kill him. Or maybe NOT kill him. He deserves something worse than death. Whatever it is, I hope it's painful. _Lily blushed, ashamed at herself for thinking such horrible thoughts. _He deserves it, though. He deserves to pay for what he has done to all of these people. You know, maybe I _will_ join the fight to vanquish him, when I've graduated. I've got nothing else to do – and healing can wait until after he's defeated. Who cares if Dumbledore says I'm in mortal peril? We all are right now, because he's out and about. I might as well fight him before I die, instead of going down without a fight. I want to make him pay for what he did to my parents. I want to be a part of overthrowing him._ Lily grinned evilly. She had a great idea. A stupid idea, but wonderful nonetheless. She got up from the bed, and left her bedroom quickly, not aware that James Potter was watching her every move.

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James Potter stared through the window, into Lily's bedroom. _What _is_ she thinking about_? He thought. _Should I be worried? She's just sitting there, staring in one direction, crying, then laughing, then crying again! Girls are _always_ mental, but this is different! She's completely insane! AHA! LOOK THERE! Now she's laughing maniacally again! That is just…not right! Oh God. WHAT IS SHE DOING NOW? SHE'S GETTING UP! SHE'S LEAVING! NO NO NO! Where the hell is she going? Probably off doing horrible, crazy, insane things. Women. Why are they so secretive and thick? That's it. I'm going to follow her. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal if she left, but now, after her parents' death, she's going through a lot of feelings. She could be doing something really stupid. Damn. _Why_ do I always have to save her from everything? Can't she just sit in her room like a good little girl? Why did I _have_ to pick the feisty one to love? Well, I guess I'll just have to follow her now. Just my luck she's leading us somewhere where we will most surely be killed. Why do I love her so damn much?_ James picked up his invisibility cloak and the marauder's map. Hastily throwing on the invisibility cloak, he ran out of his bedroom to follow Lily.

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It was 11:27 p.m. James was mentally cursing Lily for taking them out this late at night. Strangely enough, Lily was taking them into Hogsmeade. Almost all the stores and taverns were closed for the night, but a few remained lit. James trudged along, keeping his eyes glued to Lily's back, determined to keep her safe. _She'd better just be going out for a late night butterbeer, or something,_ he thought frantically. _Because I am NOT in the mood to hex five million people in her defense._ James was getting very grumpy, and very tired. Not a good combination for him. Suddenly, Lily closed her eyes and started a quarter turn. _NO NO NO NO NOOOO!_ James thought. _SHE'S APPARATING! DAMN IT!_ Desperate, he flung off his invisibility cloak. Lily stopped in alarm.

"_Potter? _Is that you? H-How did you just…just _appear_ like that? AND WHY?_" _Lily asked, her temper rising.

"To stop you from killing yourself! Look, I don't know where you're going, but it's bound to be nothing good. Just stop! Right now. Come back to the castle with me, and we'll forget this ever happened," James groaned.

Lily clenched her teeth. "No, Potter. I'm not going with you to the castle. But you can. Go on! Run along! This does not concern you, anyway."

"Oh yes it does!" James shouted indignantly. "I am _not_going to let you get yourself killed!"

"I WON'T GET MYSELF KILLED!"

"How do you know?" James replied in a determined tone.

"I just do, ok? So please, just leave me alone!" she moaned.

James' jaw was set, and there was a blazing look in his hazel eyes. "No. I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not!"

"YES I AM!"

"NO! YOU'RE NOT!"

"YES! I AM!"

"FINE! COME WITH ME! But be quiet and stay out of trouble, alright? And don't do anything!" Lily snapped.

James smirked triumphantly. "Alright, alright, I'll go with you. You don't have to freak out on me! Where are we going, anywa-" James didn't have time to finish the sentence. Lily had already grabbed his arm, and they had started to apparate.


	17. The Brightest of Their Time

**a/n:** Ok, someone brought to my attention that two things in my last chapter were a bit confusing:

Yes, you CAN disapparate from Hogsmeade, like James and Lily did. However, you CANNOT disapparate from Hogwarts' campus.

Lily is the brightest WITCH of her age, and James is the brightest WIZARD of his age. So, basically, they are each the brightest of their gender.

I hope that clears things up for everyone!

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Suddenly, Lily and James apparated into an old, shabby telephone booth.

James stared at Lily in confusion. "What are we doing here? You just randomly decided to go to a fellytone booth?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "_Telephone_ booth, Potter. Now shut up!" She quickly dialed 6-2-4-4-2. Suddenly, a woman's voice filled the telephone booth.

"Hello, and welcome. Please state your name and business," chirped the woman in a false, cheery tone.

"James Potter and Lily Evans. We're visitors," said Lily quickly, getting very impatient. Two silver badges slipped out of the coin deposit. Lily quickly handed James his badge.

"Thank you, and welcome. Please go to the security desk to be searched. Please enjoy your visit!" said the woman again. The telephone booth quickly descended into a mahogany paneled entrance hall, with a highly polished, dark wood floor. On each side, there were dozens of fireplaces, connected to the Floo Network. In the middle of the Entrance Hall was a golden fountain of magical creatures. They were in the Ministry of Magic.

James stared at Lily in alarm. "How did you – where did you – what did you – How did you know how to get _here_?" he asked her, astonished.

"I was at Paige's house over the summer. Her dad works in the Department of Magical Transport, and he said we could visit him at work. So we did. Let's keep moving, alright, Potter? And don't do _anything_!" she snapped.

"But why are we here-"

"SHUT UP! THEY'LL HEAR US, YOU IDIOT!"

"Who will?"

"POTTER!"

They walked past the security desk, where the man behind it looked like he was sleeping. For some reason, Lily had the feeling he wasn't. They headed towards the elevator. The doors silently opened, and they stepped inside, James determinedly keeping his mouth shut.

"Department Two – Magical Law Enforcement," sang the telephone woman's voice as the elevator moved up progressively.

James glanced at Lily nervously. "So…er…you really should tell me where we're going so I can be prepared for whatever it is."

Lily's face remained determinedly straight. "You'll find out soon enough, Potter. Might want to keep your wand out, mind you."

James stared at her in alarm. _Oh God. She IS taking us somewhere to be killed. And they say she's the smartest girl in our year! _He quickly pulled out his wand and brandished it in front of him like a sword. Lily suppressed a laugh as she pulled out her own wand.

"Department Seven – Department of Magical Games and Sports," cooed the woman. James' eyes widened in interest, and he started walking out of the elevator, seemingly in a trance.

"Quidditch. Loads of quidditch in here," he said, amazed.

Lily laughed and pulled him back into the elevator. "That's not where we're going, you prat," she smiled wryly. James glared at her, angry he wasn't allowed to inspect the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Lily sighed, and frowned. "Listen, Potter. We're…er…in a lot of danger right now. So…so, if you see me getting hurt or something, drop your usual hero act, and save yourself, alright? You don't have to protect me all the time. I'm a big girl."

James narrowed his eyes. "No. Not going to happen. Whatever happens, we're both going home alive. We'll get through it together. Team?"

Lily sighed. "Fine. We're a team," she said, remembering Dumbledore's words earlier that day. James smiled at her, his wand still out in front of him. He was prepared for anything that came at him.

"Level Nine – Department of Mysteries," sang the voice again. Lily took a deep breath and exited the elevator, motioning James to follow.

James stared at her with alarm. "WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING IN THE DAMNED DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES?" he shouted at her.

She glared at him. "_SHUT UP!_ THEY'LL HEAR US!"

"For the last time, WHO will hear us?"

"SHUT UP!" she shouted again. James glared at her, very confused. They walked down the long corridor in silence. Suddenly they stepped into a large, circular room, with a dozen doors set around the walls. It was so dark, Lily and James could hardly see where they were walking. The room was only lit with torches.

"_lumos_," they whispered in unison. Their wands provided them with enough light so that they could see a few feet ahead of them, but not much more.

"So where do we go now?" James asked Lily nervously.

Lily looked around the room helplessly. "I – I don't know," she muttered. "They've got to be here somewhere…"

James gazed at her curiously. "Well, which door should we try first?" he asked.

Lily quickly walked over to the door directly across from them. She tried to unlock the door. It wouldn't open. "Potter! Come here! It won't open!" James walked over, and cast a variety of spells at the door. It still would not budge.

"Well, I suppose we'll just mark this one off," Lily said, making a yellow slash over the door. She walked over to the next door, and miraculously, it opened. They walked inside together, their wands at the ready. Inside, brains were floating around a strange green liquid.

"Well, isn't this a happy place!" James exclaimed sarcastically, stepping closer to examine the brains.

"Don't get too close, Potter! We don't know what they could do to us!" Lily shouted nervously. She looked around the room. They seemed to be all alone. She sighed. "Come on, let's get out of here. This isn't the right room." They exited the room and closed the door quietly. Suddenly, the walls started spinning around.

Lily scowled. "Well, isn't this just _wonderful_? _Now_ how are we going to figure out where they are?"

"Where _who_ are?" James asked gently.

"Later, Potter. Let's just try to _find_ them first." She walked over to another door, and opened it. Inside was shelf upon shelf of silvery clear orbs. The prophecy room. She frowned in disappointment. "It's not this room, either, Potter," she called out to James. She quickly marked off the door before the room started spinning once more.

James curiously opened the next door. Inside was a large black veil and archway, located on a raised platform. The black veil had a beautiful, elegant, fluttering sensation. James walked over to it curiously.

"POTTER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Lily grabbed his shoulder, stopping him before he completely entered the room.

James continued to look at the veil. "But…I just want to see what it does!" he looked at Lily eagerly. "_Pleeeeeease_?" he asked her.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Alright. I suppose its ok, as long as we stay a healthy distance away. No one is in here, anyway, so we're safe." They crept closer to the veil, careful to stay at a safe distance. Lily stopped in surprise. "Potter? Do you…do you hear…_voices_ coming from in there?" she pointed at the veil.

James narrowed his eyes at her concernedly. "Erm…no. Are you okay, Evans?" he asked her, ruffling his hair nervously.

She sighed. She was certain she could hear voices from inside the veil. "Yeah, I'm alright. It's just…_people_ are in there!" She stepped up on the dais and reached out a hand to the veil curiously, prepared to pull it back. Suddenly, James hoisted her off the dais and ran, still carrying her, to the other area of the room, hiding them in a dark shadow.

"_POTTER_! What did you do _that_ for?" she asked him angrily.

He rolled his eyes at her. "First off, that veil looks extremely suspicious to me. Could've killed you, for all we know! The way it only talks to certain people, like it's calling out to them-" he shivered. "It's just not right. Second, we have visitors." He pointed to the other side of the room, where about five adults were entering. Four of them seemed to follow what must have been the leader. This man was very tall, with glistening red eyes that formed tiny slits. His nose was stunningly flat – it made him look almost snakelike in appearance. He had long, billowing robes, that nearly covered his bony, spindly fingers. The man was Tom Riddle, who was quickly becoming known as Lord Voldemort.

Lily gasped. "I think that's him," she breathed. "That's – that's you-know-who!"

James stared at her in alarm, then glared at her. "Oh. Great. Just wonderful. Let's all have a party! Then, as his personal gift to us, he can BLOW US TO SMITHEREENS!"

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "Shut up. He's the one who's going to die tonight. He's _finally_ here! I've been waiting ever since we got here-"

"EXPLAIN! NOW!" James interrupted her. "You _knew_ he was going to be here? And – and – you took us here _anyway_? Are you bloody _mad_? HE'S A KILLER, EVANS, YOU IDIOT! Great job. Now we're most certainly going to die!"

Lily glared at him, then sniffed. "HE KILLED MY PARENTS, DAMN IT! AND YOU EXPECT ME TO JUST SIT AT HOGWARTS AND TAKE THAT? NO! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM, POTTER! HE DESERVES IT-" James quickly clamped his hand over Lily's mouth, staring across the room anxiously. Luckily, it was a large room, so they hadn't heard Lily.

"_EVANS!_ Shut up. Right now. _You_ can't kill _him_! You're no match for him! Plus, he's got a couple of his cronies! No way are we going to be able to fight them all! We've got to sneak gently through-"

Suddenly, Voldemort started talking to his Death Eaters. "Ah, my friends. Thank you for accompanying me on this important mission. You see this veil, here? It is an extraordinary weapon. It can kill mass numbers of people at one time. They simply have to fall through the veil-" James gave Lily a significant, "I told you so," look. She glared at him. "And they're dead!" Voldemort continued. "This will be a great and significant turn of events for us, my friends. We will yield even more power, and soon witches and wizards around the world will fear my name!" Suddenly he turned to one of his Death Eaters. "KARKAROFF! What do you _mean_ this is a stupid idea? Yes, I am a Legilimens, you filth! Get those betraying thoughts out of your mind, Karkaroff! Perhaps I should give you a lesson," Voldemort grinned evilly. Suddenly, Karkaroff was hurled to the floor in pain, recoiling and twitching, letting out a bloodcurdling scream. As quickly as it had started, the pain stopped. Voldemort smiled nastily. "Yes, yes. That _was_ painful, was it not? And to think, that was a mere few seconds of torture! Put one more toe out of line, Karkaroff, and you will get just what those mudblood Evans' received! Now, back to the reason we're here. We must figure out a way to get this veil out of the Ministry. If only there weren't so many spells placed upon it-" Suddenly, Voldemort silenced. He looked around the entire room for what seemed like hours to James and Lily. His eyes suddenly rested on them, and a twisted smile appeared on his face.

"Ah, I see we have visitors!" Voldemort exclaimed in evil excitement. "You two! Step forward! Yes, I am talking to you! COME TO ME! NOW!" he ordered shrilly. James and Lily took deep breaths, then stepped out of the shadows together.


	18. Together, We Will Do Great Things

Voldemort clutched his wand menacingly, suddenly closing his eyes in deep thought. Immediately, James and Lily felt a strange sensation in their heads. Random memories flashed through their mind. Then, the memories stopped abruptly, and Voldemort opened his eyes once more. He was practicing Legilimency on them. He narrowed his eyes at them. "So," he began. "Little Lily Evans has decided to kill me for her parents' sake, eh? And ickle Potter decided to come and save the day, because you'd _never_ let little Evans get killed," Voldemort sneered, unable to understand James' love for Lily. James trembled, but determinedly puffed out his chest, and glared at Voldemort, his eyes full of defiance, which would later be passed down to his son. He sneakily pulled his wand back out from his robes. Voldemort turned to Lily once more. "How do you think you'll manage to kill _me_?" he asked her mockingly. Lily's face had now turned unbelievably pale. She attempted to back away from Voldemort, but suddenly, one of the Death Eaters grabbed her, making sure she couldn't move. Another of the Death Eaters grabbed James, and as much as James resisted, he couldn't budge.

Voldemort's lip curled. "You two _children_ actually think you can overcome _me?_ And they say that you two are the most intelligent of your age! I know things that you couldn't even attempt! _No one_ can defeat me!"

"REALLY?" Lily spat. James mentally cursed her for having so much pride, and having such a large temper. "YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A COWARD, _TOM_!" she continued, remembering how Dumbledore had referred to Voldemort. "YOU'RE AFRAID OF EVERYTHING! YOU JUST WANT ATTENTION!"

Voldemort's alarmingly thin nostrils flared. "HOW _DARE_ YOU, MUDBLOOD!"

James narrowed his eyes, deciding if he was going to die anyway, he might as well do it with some pride. "DON'T CALL HER THAT, YOU ASSHOLE!" He roared.

Voldemort's eyes widened, then he grinned. "Oh, you two think you're brave, I suppose? Talking back to the greatest wizard of all time!"

"YOU'RE WRONG, _TOM_!" Lily glared. "ALBUS DUMBLEDORE'S THE GREATEST WIZARD OF ALL TIME! HE COULD KILL YOU ON THE SPOT!" James nodded in agreement.

Voldemort swooped down on Lily, his eyes full of malice. "Let her down, Collins. She wants to fight me? Then let her fight," Voldemort grinned a twisted, careless smile. Lily was immediately hurled towards the ground. There was a long pause, as Lily remained motionless. Just when James thought she was unconscious, her fingers slowly grasped her wand. Slowly, she pulled herself up to standing position, determined to fight for her parents, determined to make them proud.

Voldemort sneered. "That's right, Evans. Now, we bow to each other." Lily didn't move. Her feet remained firmly on the ground as she gave Voldemort the icy stare she usually reserved for James. She kept her head up high. "BOW, EVANS!" Voldemort shouted shrilly. A large hand forced Lily to bow. She continued to glare at Voldemort. He smiled in contempt. "There now. That's better, isn't it, Evans? Well, now I suppose we fight." Curses flew out of Lily and Voldemort's wands, aiming directly at the other. James took this as his cue. He dug his feet into his Death Eater's shins, and was immediately released. The other three Death Eaters made their way towards him. _Make the marauders proud, James_, he thought to himself.

He aimed his wand at them. "FERNUNCULUS!" he shouted. The Death Eaters recoiled, howling in pain as huge boils appeared on their faces. James turned around to see the other Death Eater running towards him. He quickly shot a body-bind spell at the Death Eater. James grinned with pride. He looked back at where Lily was dueling with Voldemort. Voldemort suddenly grabbed Lily's arm, who gasped in surprise. Voldemort then howled with pain, quickly releasing his hand from Lily's arm, as it supposedly caused him excruciating pain. James smirked at Voldemort, happy he wasn't able to touch Lily.

Suddenly, a boil-covered Death Eater sprang at James, aiming a flash of red light at him. James howled in pain, as a large gash spread across his face. The Death Eater grinned in pleasure. James thought desperately for a curse he could use. He then suddenly remembered the day in Charms when they had learned about the Avis charm, right before Lily made him kiss a toad. "AVIS!" he bellowed. Immediately, a large flock of birds emerged from his wand and directed themselves at the Death Eater. James laughed as he watched the Death Eater run away frantically from the vicious birds flying overhead. Another Death Eater was heading towards him. He smirked, knowing exactly which spell to use. He quickly muttered the incantation under his breath, and pointed his wand at the Death Eater. Suddenly, the Death Eater twirled around like a ballerina, kissing random objects, grinning like mad. _Ah, the good old Cheering Charm, _James thought. _It always comes in handy!_ He turned to face Lily and Voldemort. It was easy to see Voldemort was winning. Lily was bleeding just about everywhere, and she was shaking with pain. James closed his eyes quickly, not wanting to look at her like that. Deciding to secretly help her, he fired a Confundus charm at Voldemort behind his back. Lily smiled graciously at him.

Suddenly, two Death Eaters tackled James from behind, dragging him towards the veil. They seemed to have put some sort of body-bind curse on him. He couldn't move, so there was no point of trying to resist them. He gazed helplessly at the veil, quite certain this was his end. Inches away from the smooth surface of the black fabric, he heard Lily scream the counter curse of the Body-Bind hex. He knocked the Death Eater's heads together and gave Lily a look of gratitude. Voldemort took this chance to fire _Crucio_ at Lily.

She collapsed onto her knees, then flung herself at the ground, twisting about and screaming in agony. "MAKE IT STOP!" she screamed, sobbing. "KILL ME! STOP IT! STOP! MAKE IT END!" Voldemort smirked, and deepened the curse. James suddenly found a new hate for him – a more personal hate. Sure, James had hated Voldemort before, because of all the things he had done to people, but now, when James looked at him, he was filled with the purest loathing, for what he had done to Lily.

He hurled himself onto Voldemort's back, not thinking about the consequences. "DO _NOT _ HURT LILY! KILL ME INSTEAD, YOU GIT! YOU BASTARD, YOU-"

Voldemort threw James off his back, and sent another gash gliding across James' face, causing James to stagger back in pain. Voldemort yawned gloatingly. "Well, Evans, it was quite fun dueling with you, but I think you are just a _tad_ bit behind on your Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Lily glared at Voldemort coldly, and didn't back down. James ran towards her, and stood in front of her, acting as a sort of shield. Voldemort narrowed his eyes. "Oooh! Would you look at that? Potter is here to save the day, Evans! He's going to die for you! Isn't that _sweet_," Voldemort's nostrils flared. "_Imperio!_" Voldemort bellowed. James staggered across the room. A voice was filling his head. He wanted to tell the voice to go away, but he didn't know how. He vaguely saw Lily staring at him in horror. The voice was getting louder now. _Such a nice voice,_ he thought. _Very commanding. Very much like a leader. If he's a leader, I should follow his orders._

_Kill the girl,_ the voice ordered.

_I most certainly will NOT!_ James fought back indignantly.

_Kill the girl!_ The voice repeated, this time with a bit more urgency.

_Who are you anyway? You're not usually the voice in my head! Why should I listen to you?_ James countered.

_JUST DO WHAT I SAY! Kill the girl!_

_I LOVE HER, YOU PRAT! WHY WOULD I KILL HER?_

_You don't love her! You DESPISE her, Potter! Look at all the horrible things she's done to you. She's slapped you, she's damaged your ego, she yells at you all the time! She won't give you the time of day! Why should you love HER? You hate Evans, Potter. You hate her._

_Erm…ok_, James thought weakly. _But killing is still bad. _

_KILL HER NOW! Together, we can do great things, Potter. Join my side. The right side. You will have so much power! Don't you want power?_

_Well, sure. I guess I want power._

_Then come with me. We'll be a great team someday, Potter. You and me. We'll go places. If you join Dumbledore and his idiots you will be joining the stupid side. The misinformed witches and wizards. I will teach you my craft, Potter. We need you._

_Why?_

_You have great potential. Now, go on. Kill the girl._

_NO! I WILL _NOT

_KILL THE GIRL!_

_NO! FIND ANOTHER GIT TO BRAINWASH! IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK ON ME!_ James snapped back, shaking his head. Little did he know he was also shouting, "NO! NO! KILL NO! BAD KILL!" causing Lily to look at him quite concernedly.

Suddenly, the spell was lifted, and James finally felt his head was cleared. Voldemort was glaring at him cruelly. "This boy must love you, Evans," he said with disgust. Shame you didn't realize that before," he said, pointing his wand at Lily's chest. "I'm sure you will see your parents quite soon, Evans. Say goodbye to Potter while you can." Lily looked at James in horror, willing him to do something. She collapsed onto the floor, becoming unconscious, as it was too much for her to take. James was helpless. There was no stopping the Avada Kedavra curse. Suddenly, he straightened up, his jaw set. _If Lily's going to die, then so am I. And we'll die with honor. When we're dead, people will remember us as two brave seventeen year olds who courageously defied Voldemort. If Lily is going to die, there's no point of living. I might as well die, too. I can't protect her anymore. It's hopeless. The only thing I can do is make her calm and peaceful when she dies. When we die, we'll be holding each other. We'll be together_, he thought.

Voldemort straightened up, and perfected his aim at Lily. "AVADA-"

"NO!" James shouted. He flew into the air, and completely covered Lily's body with his, so he would take the blow of the curse. There was no way he was going to let Lily die at such a young age. She was so successful, and lively. She deserved life more than he did. He would gladly die for her, as he was about to do. James weakly pointed his wand at Voldemort, his vision blurring. "Ex-ex-expelliarmus," he murmured, readying himself for death. He vaguely saw another tall figure hastily enter the room. There were brilliant flashes of light, then all went black.


	19. An Interesting Quilt Pattern

James Potter groaned, and painfully opened his eyes, squinting at the bright sunlight beaming into the hospital wing. He slowly sat up, reaching for his glasses on the bedside table. His eyes widened in delight as he saw the piles of sweets on his bedside table. He briefly wondered why he was in the hospital wing, then it clicked. He and Lily had gone to the Ministry of Magic. James' eyes darted around the hospital wing urgently, looking for Lily. He finally found her, lying on the bed next to his. He wondered if she had any recollection of last night's events at all.

Dumbledore swiftly entered the hospital wing, and headed towards Lily and James. James groaned. _He's probably going to tell us off for doing something so stupid,_ he thought. _Us being the Heads doesn't help things, either._ James and Lily calmly waited for Dumbledore to speak.

"What you did at the Ministry last night is a complete secret. So, naturally, the whole school knows," he beamed, his eyes twinkling merrily. Then he suddenly frowned. "What you did was very unwise. Now both of you will most definitely be on Tom's target list."

James rolled his eyes. "I beg your pardon, Headmaster, but isn't _everyone_ on his list right about now?"

Dumbledore nodded his head ever so slightly. "Yes, I suppose you are correct, Mr. Potter. But there are some people in more danger than others. Like you two, for instance."

Suddenly Lily spoke up. "Sir? W-what happened after I fainted? Wh-why are we…_alive_?" she asked shakily.

Dumbledore gazed at James with a great respect. "I believe Mr. Potter knows why you lived, Ms. Evans." James' eyes widened, and he averted his eyes from Dumbledore's penetrating stare. He blushed, ruffling his hair nervously.

Lily stared at James curiously. "He knows? What happened?"

Dumbledore moved his gaze from James to Lily. _Took him long enough, _James thought embarrassedly. "Well, seeing as Mr. Potter seems unable to communicate for the time being, I will tell the story as I believe it happened. Right after you went unconscious, Miss Evans, Tom said the first part of the killing curse. Mr. Potter here, after deciding he would die to save you, leapt in front of your limp body. This shocked Tom so much that he stopped mid-curse. Mr. Potter weakly muttered the disarming curse, and blacked out. That is where _I_ come in. Tom and I had…er…a bit of a duel, nothing big. Eventually he disapparated, fearing the Ministry Officials were on their way. I then brought you two safely back to Hogwarts to be treated."

Lily's eyebrows flew up alarmingly. "What do you _mean, _Potter was going to die for me?" she asked, amazed.

Dumbledore beamed. "Yes, Mr. Potter was going to die for you. Ah, the power love has over us, eh, Mr. Potter?" James looked down, seemingly extremely interested in the pattern of his quilt.

Lily gazed at James suspiciously, as if believing this was all a trick. Then she quickly looked back to Dumbledore. "What happened to the Death Eaters?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, they escaped as well. But Mr. Potter sure left his mark on them, did you not?" Dumbledore grinned down at James, very proud of what he had done. "And you, Miss Evans, left _your_ mark on Tom. I am very proud of you both. Few grown wizards would have the courage and intelligence to take on Tom and his followers. As I told you, Miss Evans, you two will make a great team someday." Lily blushed, sneaking glances at James.

"Sir?" James asked anxiously. "Er…well…why couldn't Voldemort touch Lily? When he tried, he let go of her like it caused him pain."

Dumbledore's eyes gained a sparkle of comprehension. "Ah. Very interesting, Mr. Potter. You might want to continue to stare determinedly at your quilt, because this might cause some mortification. James loves you _so_ much, Lily, that Tom could not _possibly_ keep hold of you for long, because he does not understand what love is. You see, love is a sort of…protective barrier, if you will. Love can do great and powerful things."

Dumbledore was right – James blushed an even deeper crimson and looked away from Lily, careful to avoid her glances.

"S-So…Potter _saved_ me? He was going to…to…_die_?" Lily exclaimed, shocked.

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, Mr. Potter here was quite ready to die for you. The ultimate sacrifice."

"Are you _sure_ that's what he was doing?"

"By the look of Mr. Potter's face, I am quite sure."

"Oh. Well…er…thank you, Potter," Lily muttered nervously. "That was…erm…very…_nice_ of you."

James merely shrugged, continuing to stare at his blanket with a sudden fascination, his face a dark crimson. Dumbledore beamed at the two of them, and suddenly grabbed a chocolate frog from Lily's stack of sweets. Lily tried to digest this new information. _Potter was going to die for me? He … he would have died FOR ME! Why? He's gone bloody insane, that's why! What would he do THAT for?_ She thought, rubbing her eyes in confusion. She looked over at James. He was still determinedly looking away from her, staring at the wall nearest him.

After gazing at the two a bit more, Dumbledore sat up from the end of James' bed. "Well, if you don't mind, I have to go meet some people from the _Daily Prophet_ in my office. I have to try to convince them to keep your story out of the paper." He quickly left the hospital wing, leaving James and Lily in an awkward silence.


	20. The Towel and the Gentleman

It was the day of Andrew's "plan." Even though it had been many days since James and Lily's adventure at the Ministry, Hogwarts students couldn't help but talk about it. Naturally, the "James Fanclub" was in full swing once more. This time, however, they put a little more…_zest_ into their efforts. They enchanted pins with James' picture on them to say, "_WE LOVE JAMES! JAMES SAVED THE WORLD!"_ This particularly annoyed James, because he now had to put up with Sirius' teasing and nagging every time a girl tried to plant love potion in his food (which was a reoccurring incident. James now had to carry a flask everywhere he went – he couldn't trust the pumpkin juice filled goblets any longer). There were many odd rumours going around, too, such as:

"Did you hear that James was turned permanently into a moose? And Madame Pomfrey couldn't change him back for _ages_! If you look close enough, you can see a tiny bit of the antlers! They're still there!"

"I heard that you-know-who set them up, you know, tricked them into going to the Ministry!"

"JAMES KILLED YOU-KNOW-WHO! HE'S OUR HERO!" (Naturally, this particular rumour was spread by "James' Angels," as they called themselves.)

"LILY IS REALLY A DEATH EATER SPY! SHE WAS HIRED TO KILL JAMES!"

"LILY DIED AND CAME BACK TO LIFE!"

"Dementors attacked them and SUCKED OUT THEIR SOULS!"

The best thing James and Lily could do was try to have normal lives, and ignore all the attention. They were slowly becoming friends. There are some things people go through together, and they just _have_ to become friends. Tackling a murderous madman is one of them.

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That morning, Lily groggily entered the Head's bathroom, wearing only a loosely wrapped towel, prepared to take a shower. Still not quite awake, she entered the bathroom without knocking on the door, opened the door to the shower, and screamed, nearly dropping her towel to the floor in shock. The person inside the shower returned her scream, but with quite a bit more masculinity.

"EVANS! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" James shouted, quite startled. Lily quickly closed her eyes and covered them with her hands, not wanting him to think she was staring at him in the shower.

"Sorry! SORRY! REALLY, REALLY SORRY!" Lily moaned nervously, rocking back and forth.

Suddenly, James started laughing. "You just couldn't get enough of me, could you, Evans?"

Lily scowled. "Come off it, Potter. It was an accident."

"You might want to pull your towel up. Its…erm…not serving the purpose you were intending for it." James grinned, clearing his throat for emphasis.

Lily blushed and quickly pulled it up to around her neck. "Erm…thanks," she said, biting her lip nervously. "Can I open my eyes now?"

"Depends on what you want to see."

"_POTTER!_ Stop making such crude remarks!"

James laughed. "I've grown up with Sirius. What do you expect?"

"Really. Can I look now?"

James quickly stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. "Yeah, you can open your eyes again."

Lily reluctantly opened her eyes, uncertain of what she would see when she opened them. She looked up at James (who was a good four inches taller than her), and started laughing uncontrollably. James cocked his head to the side and gave her a strange look, highly concerned for her mental health.

"What _are_ you laughing about, Evans?" he asked her, ruffling his hair out of habit.

"You should have…seen the look…on your face," she managed to say between breaths, continuing to laugh. "You looked…absolutely…_astonished!_"

James glared at her indignantly. "Well, you would be astonished too if some bloke walked in on _your_ shower, without warning!"

Lily continued to laugh, leaning forward onto one of the sinks to support herself. "It was just…too funny," she giggled.

James smirked amusedly. "Evans, _TOWEL!_ Honestly, it's as if you _want_ me to see things!"

Lily stopped laughing abruptly and hastily pulled the towel up to her neck once again, blushing a bright crimson, looking away from James awkwardly.

"Maybe I _should_ let you keep laughing, if that's what you're going to do with your towel. But in my defense, I really am _trying_ not to stare, but its hard work!" James said smugly.

Lily slapped him on the shoulder playfully. "Shut it, Potter. _What_ has Black done to your poor mind?"

James grinned. "If only I could tell you, Evans. Fortunately for you, I am _much_ too gentlemanly to reveal things like that to a beautiful young lady like yourself."

Lily giggled. She couldn't help but notice James' strong, muscular chest, and the way his hair fell into his eyes. She shook her head to get it out of her mind. "So, Potter, if you're done, I'd really like to take a shower now. So please leave, unless you'd like to watch me take a shower."

James grinned mischievously. "You'll really give me the choice?"

Lily rolled her eyes, and grinned. "Just go, Potter, please? AND DON'T YOU DARE PEEK THROUGH THE DOOR!" She added, reading James' mind. James grinned, rolling his eyes, and left the bathroom reluctantly.

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Lily entered the Great Hall for breakfast after her shower, making her way over to Paige and Whitney.

James was sitting across from her, smirking. "So, Evans. I'm going to be a gentleman and not ask you how your shower went," he grinned. Sirius punched his arm with pride, nodding his head approvingly.

Lily rolled her eyes, blushing. "You really ought to stop taking to Black's advice, Potter."

Sirius perked his head up indignantly. "_Excuse me?_ I've been with _loads_ more girls than you have, Evans!" He glared.

Lily snorted. "Well, that's saying something." James laughed, in awe at his friend's occasional stupidity. Sirius scowled at them.

Suddenly, Andrew appeared, and slipped beside Lily, glaring at James. James frowned. He had not forgotten about Andrew's plan for that night.

Andrew kissed Lily softly on the lips. "Ready to go to Hogsmeade now, Lilydoodles?"

Lily smiled happily. "Of course, Andrew! Let's go! And I can't wait for your surprise later on!"

Andrew smirked. "Neither can I."

Andrew and Lily made their way out of the Great Hall, a concerned James staring after them.

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I just thought I'd tell you lot that quite a lot of things that occurred in this chapter actually happened to one of my best friends, Ellen (FanFiction pen name: Ishkabibbles). So, thank you Ellen for telling me all those things a certain person told you! It helped a LOT.


	21. I Mustn't Eat My Fuzzy Socks

James Potter sat on a couch in the Head Common room, hugging his knees to his chest. _I CAN'T let Lily go through with this! She doesn't even know what she's getting into! But I DEFINITELY do not want to follow them…I'd rather not watch, thanks. But I can't just sit here and do nothing. But if I found Lily and told her, she definitely wouldn't believe me. She'd think I'm mad! Well, that's probably a bit true…_James groaned in disgust with himself. _I HATE being helpless! I need to do SOMETHING! But I can't…there's no way I can stop this now. It's too late._ James squeezed his eyes shut, trying hard not to think about what was just about to happen.

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"So, Andrew, where exactly are you taking me?" Lily asked a bit nervously, as Andrew led her down dozens of hallways.

Andrew smirked, and gave Lily's hand a squeeze. "You'll find out soon enough, Lilybean!"

Lily groaned. She _hated_ lovey-dovey nicknames. They were absolutely _revolting_. She decided to ignore it. "What will we be doing there?" she asked.

"It's a _surprise_!" he growled, getting frustrated with all of Lily's questions. "So I heard you and Potter talking. Is there…er…something going on?"

Lily gasped in surprise. "_WHAT_? No! Absolutely not! Why would you say that?"

"Well, I dunno. I just figured…" Andrew gazed at Lily suspiciously.

"Oh," Lily let out a sigh of relief. "Oh. Well, you figured wrong then, didn't you?"

"Er…I guess…"

Suddenly, Andrew stopped in front of a beautiful carved mirror. He tapped it three times with his wand, then muttered, "I must not eat my fuzzy socks." The mirror dissolved into thin air, revealing a large doorway.

Andrew beamed, getting quite giddy. "Ladies first," he giggled in delight (which was quite strange for a man to do). Lily reluctantly made her way into the dark room, making her way to the center of it. She couldn't see anything, and because of her apprehension, she had forgotten that she could have used her wand to light up the room.

"_Lumos_," Andrew said, obvious glee in his voice.

Now that there was light, Lily could look around. It was a rather large room, with ornate golden carvings on the walls, and beautiful wood floors. Strangely enough, there was a bed at the far side of the room. Lily was getting even more anxious. _What, exactly, is Andrew planning to do here?_ She asked herself. She turned around to face the far corners of the room, and raised her eyebrows in alarm. In the darkest, farthest corner, two people were snogging intimately. Lily stepped a bit closer to see who the couple was, curiosity getting the best of her. When she saw who it was, she gasped, and sprang back in alarm. The two people were –

_Paige and Sirius._

Lily shrieked in disbelief. _SIRIUS? AND PAIGE?_ She thought, astonished._ But they already went out, and they broke up rather quickly! I distinctly remember Paige saying something about his lack of maturity! So what are they doing here – _together?_ At least they're buying me some time with Andrew. I have no idea what he's going to do…and I don't think I want to find out._

Suddenly, Andrew cleared his throat emphatically. Sirius surfaced first, his eyes widening in surprise.

"_LILY? GATES?_ What're you doing here, Gates?" Sirius asked suspiciously, pretending not to know.

"Like I'd tell you, Black. Take your latest blonde and go away."

Sirius scowled. "_Excuse me?_ She is not just my _latest blonde_, thank you! She's my girlfriend! Be respectful, Gates!"

Lily raised her eyebrows at Paige, who blushed and looked away, tugging at Sirius' shirt. "Come on, Sirius. We should leave them alone. Let them…er…do what they were…planning to do, whatever that is."

Sirius sighed, deciding he couldn't stall any longer. "Fine. Let's go back to the Common Room, then." Sirius and Paige quickly made their way out of the room, leaving Andrew and Lily in complete privacy, to Lily's dismay. Suddenly, Andrew smirked, his eyes glinting maliciously. He pulled Lily abruptly onto the bed, kissing her with great force.

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Sirius flew into the Head Common Room (James had given him the password). He hopped onto the couch where James was sitting, and nearly knocked James over in excitement.

"PRONGSY, M'BOY! WILL YOU BE PROUD OF ME! I KNOW WHERE EVANS AND GATES WENT TO!"

James sat up in surprise. "You do?" he asked excitedly.

Sirius nodded. "Yep. They're in that old bedroom behind the mirror on the fifth floor."

"How do you know?" James asked skeptically.

Sirius flushed. "Never mind that," he said, his voice getting hoarse. JUST GO! You'd best take the marauder's map, and use your invisibility cloak. It'll be easier to get to Evans that way."

James nodded, and quickly went into his room to get the marauder's map and his invisibility cloak. Shouting a quick, "THANKS, BYE!" to Sirius, he bolted out of the common room. Sirius grinned. "Ah, I've trained him well," he muttered, collapsing onto the couch with pride.

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It had been _several_ minutes since Andrew had pulled Lily down onto the couch. Andrew was kissing her with such intimacy that she actually sort of flinched in disgust. He threw himself on top of her, to her dismay, practically pinning her down onto the bed. He had already taken his shirt off, and he was now trying to take off hers. She pulled away from his kiss and slapped his hand with incredible force.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" she glared, sitting upright on the bed.

Andrew groaned, seemingly impatient. "Don't you love me, Lily?"

"Don't go there. Not now. Not after what you just tried to do!" she shouted, her temper rising.

"I did it because I _love_ you, Lily! We have a _connection_!"

"Shut up!"

"_Please_, Lily? You're the only one I'd ever want to do it with."

"How many times have you used _that_ line?" she asked, her eyes narrowing into tiny slits.

"I'm being honest, Lily! Lilybear. _Lilydoodles._ Come on. _Be with me._"

"NO! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU, ANDREW!"

"If you're worrying about your reputation, it doesn't matter. Even if you don't sleep with me tonight, I'll still tell people you did."

"YOU WOULDN'T! ANDREW! THIS ISN'T YOU!"

"Oh yes, it is. Come on, Evans. It'll be fun," he grinned, his eyes flashing dangerously.

He made his way over to Lily and started pulling off her shirt. She slapped his hand once more. "No!" she moaned, starting to cry. "NO!"

He continued to pull of her shirt, until it was just above her ribcage. Suddenly, the door pounded open, and in one quick movement, Andrew was pinned down onto the floor.

"_Potter!_" Gates spat, as soon as James pulled off his invisibility cloak. "What're you doing here? Leave us alone, will you? We're trying to have a little fun, here-"

"SHUT UP, YOU PRAT! I WARNED YOU THAT NIGHT NOT TO MESS WITH EVANS, AND LOOK AT THIS SITUATION!"

"What situation? Honestly, we were just snogging-"

"Maybe that's all you _were_ doing. But you were planning on doing a lot more than snogging, weren't you, Andrew?" James' hazel eyes flashed dangerously.

"What _are_ you talking about?" Andrew said, trying to act innocent.

"What am I talking about? WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT? Look at you! Your shirt is off, your pants halfway off, and Evans' shirt is pulled halfway up! Because of _you_, you spineless, pathetic little-"

Andrew pushed James off of him (after struggling for quite a long time), and quickly made his way to the door. "You know what? Fine. You two go ahead and shag. It's obviously what you want. Oh, and Evans? You might want to go to classes for a few days. I reckon your reputation is about to hit rock bottom," he smirked. He walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him, apparently forgetting his shirt was off and his pants were at his knees.

James cautiously made his way over to Lily, who was sitting on the bed, crying silently. He sheepishly pulled her shirt back down, seeing as she wasn't going to do it herself. He then sat down on the bed next to her. "What happened, Evans?" he asked gently, resting his hands on her shoulders.

She looked up at him, tears quietly rolling down her face. "He…he tried to…he tried to…"

James nodded, indicating he understood, and she didn't have to go any further.

"But he was so sweet the entire time! And…and then today he was so…_different!_" Lily buried her head into James' chest, who widened his eyes in surprise.

"I know, Evans," he said, pulling her into a warm embrace. "Some people are completely heartless. No one deserves what Gates did to you today, you especially."

Lily sniffled, signaling she had heard him. He went on. "You've been through a lot lately, Evans. I'm really proud of you. I can't believe how well you're handling it. It's amazing. I wouldn't be able to live through all of this!"

Lily smiled, letting herself melt in James' arms. She collapsed onto the bed, emotionally exhausted from the day's events. James rested next to her, hugging her close, without her protesting. They fell asleep together that way, each completely peaceful in the other's arms.


	22. Giggling, Snogging, and Bikinis

Lily smiled, her eyes fluttering open. She looked around in alarm, not realizing where she was. Suddenly she felt an _arm_ around her shoulders. She turned around and screamed. James Potter was _sleeping_. _In her bed._

"POTTER! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

James groaned, rolling over on his side. "Five more minutes."

Lily started pacing frantically. "We must have fallen asleep together after last nights…erm…_incident_. This is _not good_, Potter! _NOT GOOD!_" She shouted, flailing her arms about frantically.

James sat up and grinned at her anxiousness. "_Relax_, Evans. No big deal. We just fell asleep, is all," he ruffled his hair sleepily.

"No big deal? NO BIG DEAL? We could get _expelled_ for this, Potter! EXPELLED, DAMN IT!"

James raised his eyebrows, causing Lily to blush and collapse carelessly back onto the bed anxiously. It just so happened she had fallen right on top of James, her head resting on his chest. He laughed as she gasped and sat on the other side of the bed quickly, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"So…what do we do now, then?" She asked nervously.

James smiled. "Well, if I were Sirius, I would say that we should fall back asleep again. Luckily for you, I, unlike Sirius, keep these thoughts to myself." Lily blushed, looking away from James. James looked at her hesitantly. "So…er…does this mean…you and Gates are over?" He asked gently.

Lily sighed, biting her lip subconsciously. "I don't know. I suppose so. I mean, I definitely don't want him after what he tried to…erm…" she cleared her throat awkwardly. "_do_."

James nodded sheepishly. "Right. Well, we should get to the Head Common Room, you know. Change our clothes, otherwise people will be suspicious," he winked. Lily laughed, and followed James out of the doorway.

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It was after classes, and Lily was in her old dormitory with Whitney and Paige, talking over recent events (however, Lily was careful to not mention the falling asleep with James bit).

"He tried to WHAT?" Paige shrieked in awe.

Lily nodded grimly. "It's true. And then he said…he said he's going to tell everyone that we _did_ do…erm…_it_."

Whitney gaped at her in alarm. "That slimy little bast-"

"WHITNEY! LANGUAGE!" Lily shouted. Whitney rolled her eyes. "Anyway," Lily went on. "Right about when he was going to force me down into the bed, Potter flew through the door and pinned him down on the ground."

"He's your _hero_, isn't he Lily?" Whitney smirked.

Paige hit her with a pillow. "Shut _up_, Whit! We _do_ want them to get together, you know!" she mumbled.

Lily looked at them suspiciously. "Sorry? I didn't catch that."

Paige's eyed widened as she frantically searched for a cover. "What? Oh. Nothing, really. Just…er…suggesting we…play truth or dare!" she said suddenly, her eyes brightening with excitement.

Lily groaned. "_Why_? Every time we play, I end up making a fool of myself somehow or another."

Whitney rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're afraid."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Afraid of _what_, exactly?"

"You're hiding something from us you don't want us to know," Whitney nodded knowingly.

Lily gasped. "I am _not_!"

"Then play the damn game already!"

"Fine," Lily scowled, narrowing her eyes at Whitney.

Paige decided to intervene. She coughed loudly. "Right. Well, Lily, truth or dare?"

Lily frowned in concentration, deciding which would make her seem less foolish. "Er…truth."

Paige beamed maliciously. "Do you like James?"

Lily's eyes widened in astonishment, her pupils ten times larger than normal. "WHAT? NO! _NO! DEFINITELY NOT!_" Lily shouted hastily, wringing her hands.

Whitney smirked. "Right."

Lily glared. "I _don't_! How could I like _Potter_? I mean, sure, he's saved my life, and he's protected me, what…two or three times now? But that doesn't mean _anything_! Really! He's just…_Potter_, plain and simple."

Paige rolled her eyes. "Alright then."

"Ok, Paige. Truth or dare?" Lily asked challengingly.

"Dare."

"I dare you to eat five fizzing whizbees at once," Lily declared smugly.

Paige did so, seemingly enjoying the process. "Truth or dare, Whit?" Paige asked eagerly.

"Truth."

"Do you ever intentionally stalk guys you like?"

Whitney blushed. "No…well…not _most_ of the time, anyway. That's only happened a few times," she grinned sheepishly. "Anyway, Lily's turn now. Truth or Dare, Lily?"

"Er…truth again."

"Tell us all about your first kiss. You know, who it was with, where, what happened, that sort of thing," Whitney said eagerly.

Lily went pale. "Er…can't I get a new question?"

"NO!" Paige and Whitney shouted in unison.

"Fine!" Lily scowled, then gulped. "Well…it was in fifth year, by the lake."

"Did you like it? Be honest."

"Er…fine. Yes, I did, ok? Is that such a big deal? He was an incredible kisser…God, I was so naïve then. So stupid."

"Wait…who is 'he'? Who did you kiss, Lily?" Paige asked suspiciously.

"Does it matter?" Lily asked nervously.

"'Course it does, Lily! Just tell us! It can't be that bad. Hell, the first boy I kissed was Finnigan. He was _horrible_," Whitney declared, her eyes flashing with curiosity. "Go on, just tell us who it was!"

Lily frowned hopelessly. "It was Potter, ok? Are you happy _now_?"

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT WAS HIM!" Paige hooted in glee.

"So? What does it matter? It's all in the past," Lily said awkwardly.

"YOU LIKED IT! YOU LIKED IT!" Whitney chanted, doing some sort of dance.

"So did he just randomly come up to you and start kissing you?" Paige asked interestedly.

"Er…actually, it was more of a…_mutual_ thing," Lily said uncomfortably. Paige and Whitney squealed in delight. "PAIGE! WHITNEY! On with the game, please! Paige, truth or dare?" Lily asked, turning crimson.

"Dare."

Whitney's eyes glinted mischievously. "I dare you to go into the boy's dormitory wearing a bikini."

Paige stared at her strangely. "Er…ok. Truth or dare, Whitney?"

"Dare?" Whitney asked uncertainly.

Paige's eyes sparkled excitedly. "I dare you to snog Peter Pettigrew for a full ten minutes."

Whitney's eyes widened in disgust. "You are downright _cruel_, Paige," she scowled. "Alright, then. I suppose we'd better get these dares over with," she shivered.

The threesome made their way across the common room, receiving many funny looks on account of Paige wearing a bathing suit. They made their way into the boy's dormitory. Lily was surprised to see James there, apparently trying to finish up some homework. He jumped back in surprise as he saw Lily enter the room, followed by Paige and Whitney. Sirius gazed at Paige longingly (in a rather disgusting way). Remus looked uncomfortable, and Peter looked dazed.

Paige grinned. "Stop drooling, Sirius. It's a _bikini_, not underwear."

"So? I'm allowed to look, aren't I?" he smiled slyly. Paige rolled her eyes and blushed, sitting down next to Sirius on his bed.

James quickly averted his eyes from Paige. "What's the occasion, Evans?" he asked.

Lily smiled. "Truth or dare. Speaking of which, Whit, you ought to do your dare now," she beamed.

Whitney groaned, then dragged her feet over to Peter. She jumped onto his bed, and kissed him with great force. Peter jumped, then wrapped his arms around her in what he thought was a "smooth" manner.

Lily tilted her head amusedly. "My God! Poor Whitney! Has he _ever_ kissed a girl?" she asked.

James grimaced, a revolted look on his face. "Obviously not, if he's doing _that._"

Sirius laughed. "I guess practicing on toads didn't really help him much, eh?"

James turned to look at Lily. "So what's your dare?" he asked, obviously amused.

"I took truth," Lily said, blushing.

"Oh? And just what did you reveal about yourself, Miss Evans?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Er…nothing important. Stupid stuff, really."

"Why the sudden nonchalance, Evans?" James asked, smiling charmingly.

Lily tried not to stare into his clear hazel eyes. "Er…I'm not being nonchalant! It's just it was nothing important."

Paige snorted. "She told us about your kiss, James." James' eyebrows shot above his hairline. "And the best part is, she told us she _liked_ it," Paige continued with satisfaction, having to occasionally slap Sirius' hand when he attempted something.

James smirked. "Oh, really? You _enjoyed_ it, Evans? Well maybe we'll just have to do that again sometime."

Lily rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. "I seriously doubt that, Potter. Whit, you can stop now, you poor thing."

Whitney immediately surfaced, looking horrified. She groaned. "I'm going to the bathroom to brush my teeth – over and over again." She trudged off to the bathroom, scowling, to everyone's laughter.

"SHE LOVES ME!" Peter chirped gleefully.

"Shut up, you twit," Sirius laughed. "It was a dare!"

Peter frowned. "Oh. Right. I knew that."

Suddenly, Lily erupted into a fit of giggles, clutching her stomach, causing her to collapse into James' arms. He blushed, holding Lily upright as everyone gawked at them. However, Lily didn't seem to notice this. She continued to laugh hysterically in James' arms until they left.


	23. Celebrating Their Lives

"Abigail Evans was well known as a kind woman. She was also well known for making the best chocolate chip cookies in Britain. I remember she would always send some with John so we could have some, as well. She was a caring soul-" Suddenly, Mr. Evans' coworker's voice was drowned out by loud cursing, coming from outside the door.

"PADFOOT! DON'T SWEAR! IT'S A FUNERAL!" James shouted exasperatedly.

"Well, your shouting is just as bad as my swearing," Sirius retorted from outside the door.

"Let's just get inside, alright? We don't want to delay the funeral any longer!" hissed Remus, in a _how_-did-I-become-friends-with-these-prats kind of way.

Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked the four marauders. Lily's eyes widened in surprise when she saw them there. She had only told Whitney and Paige about the funeral. She figured no one else would come, anyway.

"Sorry, er…excuse me, pardon me," James muttered while walking through the farthest aisle, blushing a deep red. He quickly looked up and saw Lily staring at him curiously. He smiled, and waved, giving her a sympathetic nod. "OUCH! PADFOOT!" he howled, as Sirius stepped on his foot. Sirius grinned maliciously, always loving the attention. The marauders finally found seats in the back row, Remus giving Lily an apologetic look, almost as if he were saying, _See what I have to deal with every day?_

Mr. Evans' coworker cleared his throat. "Right. Well, John was a wonderful chap himself. If anyone in the office needed help, he was always there. Why, when I was hard on money a few times, he was always there to chip in a bit…well, more than a bit. More like he chipped in a _lot_. He was a great man, he was. So was Abbey. Except, er…she was a great _woman_. They will be strongly missed. Er…I think Miss Evans would like to speak about them, now?" the man asked, looking around for Lily. She took a deep breath, and got up. Paige squeezed her hand encouragingly as she walked away, up to the platform with her parents' coffins.

"Erm…hello, everyone. Thank you for being with us today. I know we all share a strong love for my parents – even if you've never met them, you'd have to like them, from what people are saying about them. When I first learned about my parents' death, I was completely shocked. It was all so _sudden_. I didn't know what to do. Luckily, my friends Whitney, Paige, and Pot-_James_, were there to guide me. I sincerely thank them for being with me at that hard time. After the shock of my parents' death sank in, I have to admit, I was really angry with them. I was so angry with them, I did this horrible thing that put my friend's life in danger. But I couldn't help but be angry at them. They left me here, all alone, an orphan. My father will n-never walk me down the aisle, and my mother and I will never have those special bonding moments teens and their mums should have. But that's okay. Because when I was thinking about all this, I realized how lucky I was to have such great friends and relatives, who will always support me, no matter what I do. I realized that my parents would have wanted me to be happy after they died. They wouldn't have wanted me to sit around crying. They would have wanted me to celebrate their lives, regardless of how short their lives were. So I am here with you today to celebrate th-their lives. To relive only the good memories, which are the memories I am hoping I will keep forever, long after I forget their voices and appearances. I want to hold on to that river of memories that is running through my head right at this moment. My parents would have wanted us to remember the good memories. So I just thought I would sh-share some with you today. I remember when I was accepted into Hog-I mean, boarding school. My parents were so proud of me that day. I remember when I became Head Girl at school. Mum was jumping up and down when I told her the news. She was so proud of me, you could see it in her eyes. I remember when Dad brought me to work, and let me press _all_ of the buttons in the elevator, without even getting frustrated with me. I remember when my parents actually let me dye my hair black four summers ago, because I was so ashamed of my red hair-"

"SHE DIED HER HAIR BLACK?" James said in awe, louder than he had planned.

Lily grinned. "Yes, I dyed my hair black. It took _ages_ to go back to my normal hair colour. I remember playing horrible tricks on Petunia – dumping a bucket of fudge on her head, making her sit on pizza, switching her shampoo with pink hair dye, you name it, I did it. And even though these were horrible things to do, my parents _laughed_. Because they enjoyed life, w-which is exactly what they would want us to do right now, instead of grieving. S-so instead of missing their p-presence, remember all the great times you shared with them. Remember the w-way they laughed, the way their eyes had a merry t-twinkle in them. Th-that is h-how m-m-my parents would w-w-want to be re-remembered," Lily finished, finally giving up on holding back her tears. She quickly made her way back over to Paige and Whitney, and let them hug her as she cried.

Soon it was time for the reception. Lily sighed, then walked away from Paige and Whitney to thank her relatives for coming. The marauders hastily made their way to Paige and Whitney, James in the lead.

"Thanks for coming, guys," Whitney said in a sad tone. "It means a lot to Lily. Especially the fact that _you_ came, James. You can tell she was happy you came. She needs you right now."

James ran his hand through his hair awkwardly. "Er…yeah. Sure, no problem. I'm happy to help."

"Speak for yourself," Sirius groaned. "Funerals make me depressed."

Paige rolled her eyes. "They make _everyone_ depressed, you twit. But _some_ of us are able to hide our emotions, and help our _friends_ get through _their_ grief. And didn't you listen to Lily's speech? We should be celebrating their lives, not grieving."

"I didn't even know the people! How am I supposed to celebrate their lives?" Sirius exclaimed in protest. Paige sniffed indignantly.

"Padfoot, if you want to snog Paige ever again, you'll hold your tongue," Remus muttered warningly. Sirius scowled, but remained silent.

James smiled, then quickly made his way over to Lily."_You_ pulled pranks? I can't believe it!" He gasped, figuring it would do her some good to think about something other than her parents' death.

She grinned. "I use my power for good, Potter. You ought to consider doing the same."

"Oh, but Evans! We could be such a great _team_! Together, you and I could take over Hogwarts! We could overthrow Peeves! We could-"

"Nice try, but it is _not_ going to work. Besides, I save all my good pranks for Petunia. Thank goodness she's not here, otherwise I would have gotten a lot of dirty looks for that prank thing I mentioned."

"She sounds horrible."

"Yeah, she is. She definitely deserves a bucket of fudge falling on her head every time she takes a step," Lily smiled, her eyes twinkling.

"I never thought you had it in you, Evans."

"Yeah, well, there are a lot of things about me that would probably surprise you."

"Like?"

"Like I would _tell_ you, Potter. It is much more fun being secretive, and watch you get all excited trying to figure out what it is," Lily smiled.

"Well, I do have one other question for you," James smirked.

"Oh, God, you're not asking me out are you?" Lily sighed exasperatedly.

James grinned. "Well, no, I wasn't planning on it. But if you want me to, I will-"

"Never mind! Just ask your question, then," Lily said hastily.

"Did you _really_ dye your hair black? For an entire summer?" James smirked.

"Yes."

"And?"

"And what?" Lily asked amusedly.

"What did it look like?"

"Absolutely _horrible_. I looked like a murderer who escaped from Azkaban," Lily blushed.

"Oooh. Picture, please."

"Like I would ever actually _give_ you blackmail!" Lily retorted playfully.

Suddenly, James turned serious. "Erm…listen. Your parents sounded like really great people. And you're right – they would have wanted you to celebrate their lives."

"Er…thanks. And, well, thanks for being here…with _me_. I really do appreciate it," Lily said awkwardly.

"Erm…yeah, sure. I'm always there for you, Evans," James replied sheepishly.

Lily blushed, then checked her watch, and gasped. "Listen, I've got to go talk to everyone else before we go to, well…we go to…the cemetery."

James nodded, giving Lily a sympathetic look. "Right. Well then, I guess I'll just see you at…er…school?"

"Yeah. See you. And thanks again for coming," Lily said, giving James a quick hug, before running off to some relatives, blushing.


	24. The Many Forms of Sirius Black

_Lily?_

PAIGE! I'M TRYING TO LISTEN TO MCGONAGALL!

_God, Lily. Don't freak out on me!_

Well, what am I SUPPOSED to do when you start passing me notes during Transfiguration?

_Um, write back._

What do you want?

**Look at James**.

What about him, Whit?

_Um, he's taking NOTES for once? And he actually successfully turned Sirius into a teapot._

So? That doesn't mean anything!

**Sure it does. It means he's smart. You really ought to give him more credit, Lily.**

I give him credit, Whitney! Sometimes.

_Name one time you told him you appreciate him._

This is pointless. Goodbye, I'm going back to my notes, like YOU TWO should!

_HA! I KNEW you couldn't provide an example!_

Shut up.

**I dare you to thank him for everything he's done.**

NO!

_Why not?_

Because he hasn't done anything for me!

_Um, excuse me, do you want me to recap?_

What're you talking about?

_THINGS JAMES POTTER HAS DONE FOR LILY EVANS_

_1. saved her from a disgusting freak who was about to, erm…have his way with her_

_2. beat said disgusting freak to a pulp_

_3. saved her life at the Ministry of Magic, prepared to DIE FOR HER_

_4. fought the IMPERIO CURSE, when VOLDEMORT HIMSELF cast it on him, trying to make him kill Lily _**(now THAT is the power of love, girl)**

_5. kept her little secret about kissing in fifth year…which must have been hard for him, on account of his ego_

_6. let her cry ALL OVER HIM when her parents died, without making on arrogant remark about it _**(I wish I** **could cry on James' shoulder…)**

_7. Dueled with DEATH EATERS_

**Now, if that isn't the "Damsel in Distress getting saved by Prince Charming EVERY TIME" act, I don't know what is.**

Ok, so maybe he HAS done some stuff for me. But that doesn't mean anything. We're just friends.

_Hey, I'll take what I can get. I'm just saying, you should THANK him for all that stuff he's done for you._

Oh my God. My own FRIENDS have turned against me!

**We've always been on his side, Lils.**

Great. Thanks for telling me this NOW.

_No problem._

**Look at that, Lily! James just turned Sirius the teapot into a…what do those muggles call it, Lily? A supermodel? Ok, that was somewhat harsh, but it shows that he is very talented! And Sirius doesn't look half bad as a giggling blonde in a bikini.**

Ok, so maybe he IS kind of smart. So what?

_He could tutor you sometime._

**In Snogging 101.**

YOU TWO!

_Oh look at that, class is over._

**What a shame. I was hoping to see Sirius turned into a beauty queen next.**

_Oh, how I will tease him._

That's right…you two are still dating, aren't you?

_Yes, we are. I think it will stay that way for a while, too._

That's great!

**Now if only you and James will get together…**

Oh my God! For the LAST TIME! James and I are JUST FRIENDS.

**Did you just call him James?**

_Are you planning to continue this?_

Not to his face.

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Lily Evans quickly made her way towards James Potter in the Transfiguration corridor. Suddenly, another person sprang into her view. Severus Snape. She could see Snape saying something, then suddenly, James pulled out his wand and turned Snape upside down. Lily ran towards them.

"POTTER!"

James groaned. "Yes, love?"

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" Lily shouted weakly, trying to suppress her laughter.

"Well, I was turning Snivellus upside down, like so-" James was alarmed to see Lily's face break into a grin.

"Don't be a smart-ass with me, Potter! LET HIM DOWN!" _Even if it IS funny,_ she told herself, _I can't condone this type of behavior._

James immediately let Snape down, allowing Snape to run away quickly.

Lily smiled. "_God_, Potter. You are _so _conceited," she teased.

He grinned. "I know you love me that way," he said, teasing back.

Lily rolled her eyes, but there was a tiny amused spark radiating from her eyes. "See you, Gilbert."

James stared at her in confusion. "Erm…_what?_"

Lily laughed. "Gilbert Blythe, you prat!"

James continued to stare at her in confusion. Lily rolled her eyes. "Look it up. It's a muggle book, so it may take you a while to find." She started to walk away, a small smile on her face.

James furrowed his eyebrows in thought. Suddenly, it came to him. "Gilbert Blythe! From _Anne of Green Gables. _He teased Anne about her red hair, and Anne hates him. He starts to like Anne, but she always turns down his invitations."

Lily stopped, turned around, and nodded. "Good job, Potter. I can't believe you actually knew that," she grinned, teasing him.

James smirked. "But you know, Anne eventually starts to love him back."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Trust me, Potter. That will never happen to us," she said, grinning.

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_Dear Journal,_

_Paige and Whitney have officially joined the Dark Side. I keep telling them James and I are just friends, but they never believe it. I myself am starting to wonder if that is just a lie – a cover up of some sort. But it can't be. James and I are just friends. Just friends._

_Oh my God. I can't believe I'm calling him JAMES now. It's so weird. I can't believe I'm actually his friend. Just a month ago, if you asked me, I would have said I despised him, more than I loathe Snape, even! And now I'm FRIENDS with him? This is so confusing…how did everything change so quickly? I honestly don't know what to do – should I follow my heart, or should I do what my mind says? Or are they the same?_

_It's hard to imagine James having changed. I wonder if this is all a scheme to get me to like him…I also wonder if it's working._

_Lily Evans_

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**NOTE: **Okay, in case the first bit was hard to follow:

**This was Whitney**

_This was Paige_

This was Lily

They were passing notes in Transfiguration.


	25. Maybe

**A/N:** Sorry I haven't been updating as often as I used to. One word: _midterms_. And I know you feel my story isn't getting anywhere, and it is taking _way_ too long for Lily and James to get together, if they do in my story. And it's true. It _is_ taking a long time, isn't it? _Pleeease_ be patient!

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Lily Evans made her way over to Gryffindor table for breakfast. She casually sat between James and Whitney, stretching her arms as she sat.

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "What the _hell_ are you doing, Ev-OUCH! DAMN IT, MOONY! What was that for?" He yelped, massaging his shin.

Remus gave him a warning look. "_Padfoot_! Don't you dare screw things up! Let her sit where she wants to sit, you dunce!" he hissed under his breath.

James laughed at his friends' argument. He turned his head to face Lily. "Morning, Evans," he said, smiling charmingly.

Lily giggled as she grabbed the pumpkin juice pitcher. "Morning, Potter," she said, as pumpkin juice leaked onto the table. She had missed her glass by several inches. People around her giggled as she hastily mopped up the mess with her napkin, gazing at James, apparently forgetting she could have used her wand. James smiled at her, winked, and used his wand to clean the table. She blushed heavily, looking away from James in embarrassment.

Suddenly, dozens of owls flew into the Great Hall. Ever since her parents' death, Lily had a queasy feeling in her stomach whenever Owl Post arrived. A brown, shaggy owl dropped a _Daily Prophet_ onto her toast. As she looked down at the first headline, she gasped:

_TEENAGE HEROES_

_By Phoebus Bizzeeboddy_

_Three weeks ago, James Potter and Lily Evans, both seventeen and of Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, dueled with You-Know-Who himself at the Ministry of Magic. We would like our readers to know that we would have had this news much earlier, if only Headmaster Albus Dumbledore would have allowed us to print it. Then, when our own lovely Rita Skeeter pointed it out, we realized that we did not need Dumbledore's consent to print an article._

_Lily Evans (daughter to the recently murdered John and Abigail Evans) and James Potter heard that You-Know-Who would be at the Ministry of Magic, and, rather rashly, they decided they would defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. James Potter battled with four Death Eaters at once. There is evidence that one was flipped upside down (aurors found pink undergarments…rather strange considering it was a male), and the others were petrified at least once each. "It takes an extremely talented wizard to take on such powerful Dark wizards," announced Millicent Bagnold, Minister of Magic. "Both Mr. Potter and Miss Evans showed unbelievable courage and intelligence that night." _

_Lily Evans took on You-Know-Who himself. There is evidence that You-Know-Who used the _imperio_ curse on Potter, trying to make him kill Evans, however Potter refused. This could be because of the widely known fact that Potter is infatuated with Evans. "He stares at her all the time, like a love-sick puppy," states a classmate of Potter's, Severus Snape. "It's quite pathetic, actually. She always turns him down. Potter never gives up. It's so stupid. It's obvious who Evans loves – me. Everyone loves me. Yeah, you could say I'm the 'cool kid' of our year, people follow me around all the time-"_

_Whatever the reason, Potter saved Evans two times that night. The first incident was when You-Know-Who put _imperio_ on him. The second was when he covered Evans with his body, so he would be killed instead. "It takes the bravest man to actually sacrifice his life for another," said Bagnold, Minister of magic. "Mr. Potter committed an act of the purest love and loyalty at the Ministry of Magic." Currently, both Potter and Evans are safely inside Hogwarts, having been rescued from the Ministry by none other than Albus Dumbledore._

_As of press time, no more information was released. We plan to give you an exclusive interview with Potter and Evans in an upcoming issue._

Above the article was a large, black and white picture of James and Lily at the Ministry of Magic. James was covering Lily with his body, and both were unconscious. The _Daily Prophet_ must have snuck in to take the picture when Dumbledore was talking to the aurors.

James, who had been reading the article himself, threw his paper down in disgust. "That _GIT!_ I am _NOT_ a _love-sick puppy!_" He scowled, glaring down at his paper.

Sirius sneered. "Hate to break it to you mate, but, well, you kind of are."

"Shut up, you twit!" James shouted indignantly, crossing his arms.

Lily smiled at the look on James' face. There were so many things she could say to him – _Has anyone ever told you how cute you look when you're angry? I think its sweet, James. Who cares what Snape says? Everyone knows _you're _the most popular guy at school. Don't we look cute together in that picture?_ She shook these thoughts away, and instead exclaimed, "Don't worry about it, Potter. _I_ know you're not a love-sick puppy. You haven't even asked me out lately!"

Remus and Sirius exchanged excited glances, raising their eyebrows at each other. _She'd noticed?_

Lily went on. "Anyway, I guess you really _did_ save me back at the Ministry. So I owe you a…a _thank you_," she said, grimacing.

James sat up eagerly, smirking. "Go ahead, spit it out, Evans," he said gleefully.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I just did!"

"That didn't suffice. It needs to be a _hearty_ thank you, Evans."

Lily giggled as James demonstrated "hearty thank-yous" repeatedly. "Alright, alright. Thank you _so_ very much for saving me, Potter. _Whatever_ will I do to repay you?"

James grinned. "I can think of a few things."

"Not _those_ things!" Lily blushed, causing James to laugh. "Anyway," she went on, "We'd better get to Charms. It's almost time for class."

They all made their way out of the Great Hall, James and Lily standing awkwardly close to each other.

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_OH. MY. GOD._

**What NOW, Paige?**

_James. And Lily._

**OH MY GOD!**

_What the hell is with girls and the "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!" crap?_

_Shut it, Sirius. We were just talking about James and Lily._

_Oh. Right. Them. What about 'em?_

**LOOK AT THEM, YOU IDIOT!**

_I AM looking at them, thank you!_

_Sirius! They're writing NOTES to each other. And GIGGLING. _

_Damn. My best mate has gone to the Dark Side._

_Excuse me?_

_He's gone to the Dark Side…all of that love stuff. I feel for the bloke._

_Oh, my God, Sirius. It's so CUTE! And ROMANTIC!_

_Oh no. Not YOU TOO!_

**But really! Look at them! EEEEEEE! They're SO CUTE!**

_Oh Lord. I feel my masculinity draining as we speak._

**Very funny. OH! LOOK AT THAT! They're blushing! And STARING at each other!**

_Are they still passing notes? I can't see anything anymore, Peter just moved in front of me._

_They're still passing notes. Who cares? WE'RE passing notes, and I'm not deeply in love with Whitney._

_I notice you didn't mention that you weren't madly in love with me._

_But passing notes is just PASSING NOTES._

**Nice change of subject, Sirius. But they're not writing NORMAL notes! They're writing LOVE NOTES.**

**_Do I WANT to know what you three are talking about? All I've read was about love notes and something about Sirius being madly in love with Paige._**

_I NEVER SAID THAT, MOONY!_

**He so did, Remus. **

_Shut up._

_You LOOOOOOOOOOVE me._

_Don't be mean._

_**When is the wedding?**_

_I'm warning you!_

_**So after the wedding, I take it you'll be Mr. Paige Wallace?**_

_SHUT IT! RIGHT NOW! Do you WANT me to turn you into a horse?_

_**Er, no. What is all this talk about Lily and James?**_

**They're, like, totally in their own little world!**

_Like, TOTALLY!_

_**Wow, you're right. They ARE in their own little world. I'll bet they don't even realize that there are other people here.**_

_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I KNEW THEY WERE IN LOVE!_

_Crap. Why did I have to pick the so-girly-its-scary girlfriend?_

_Shut up or no snogging tonight._

_Shutting up now._

_I thought so. OH! LOOK AT THAT! _

_**What?**_

_Yeah, what?_

**You two are so clueless.**

_TELL US, DAMN IT!_

**James just brushed an eyelash out of Lily's eye!**

_So?_

**That is SO Flirting 101.**

_I am now terrified. SAVE ME, MOONY! SAVE ME FROM THE SCARY WOMEN!_

_**I happen to like the scary women.**_

**Thank you.**

_I always liked you better, Remus._

_HEY!_

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**Evans?**

Potter?

**Want to make a little wager?**

It depends. What exactly IS this bet?

**I'll bet you 10 galleons that I'll do better than you on the next Charms essay.**

Deal.

**Excellent. So when are our next Head Rounds?**

Not for two weeks.

**Oh. WHY ARE YOU STARING AT ME LIKE THAT?**

What are you talking about? I'm not staring!

**Yes you are!**

YOU'RE the one that's staring!

**NO WAY!**

Um, yes way.

**AHA! THERE! YOU'RE DOING IT AGAIN!**

Doing what again?

**The scary staring thing! You're eyes sparkle more than usual, and you just…STARE at me! And you've got this cute smile when you do it-**

Excuse me? Cute smile?

**God, Evans. You're not telling me that it has JUST occurred to you that I think you're cute?**

Well, yes, it HAS just occurred to me.

**So my 6 years of pursuing you was wasted time?**

I thought it was all a joke, sort of.

**WHAT?**

Sorry. So I take it that it wasn't a joke all those years?

**No, it wasn't. And why are you using past-tense? You should be using present tense, Evans, so the sentence is as follows: "So I take it that it hasn't been a joke all these years?"**

I have to admit, I'm surprised.

**That I like you?**

No, that you know what the past and present tenses are.

**Very funny, Evans.**

I thought so too.

**So.**

So.

**Do you return my feelings? DON'T SLAP ME, IT'S JUST A QUESTION!**

Maybe.

**Maybe? MAYBE?**

Yes. Maybe.

**You're torturing me here, Evans. Can't you just give me a yes or no? WHY ARE YOU GIGGLING LIKE THAT?**

I'm not giggling! And no, I'm not going to give you an exact answer. It is much more fun watching you die of curiosity. 

**I'll get it out of you somehow, Evans.**

Is that a threat, Mr. Potter?

**I believe it is, Ms. Evans. In fact, I have just the idea.**

Oh God. Tell me what you're going to do to me.

**Maybe.**


	26. In Need of a Hip Flask

"PRONGS! YOU ARE BLOODY MAD, I TELL YOU! I AM _NOT_ DOING THAT FOR YOU!" Sirius shouted, backing away from James, who was carrying two glasses of green, bubbly, putrid liquid. They were in Sirius and Remus' dorm, having decided it was the safest place to talk over James' latest plan.

"Come on, Padfoot! It's not _that_ bad! Its only polyjuice potion! And it took me ages to make," persuaded James, walking closer to Sirius and Remus with the glasses still in his hands.

Remus turned pale. "P-Prongs? Are you…_serious_?"

James grinned. "'Course I am. How else am I going to know how Lily really feels about me?"

"Oh, I dunno, you could try _ASKING HER_!" Sirius shouted. "What is it with you and these horrible, far-fetched plans, Prongs?" Sirius glared at James, crossing his arms.

"Padfoot, please! It'll only be for an hour or so!"

"FORGET IT! I AM _NOT_ TURNING INTO A DAMN CHICK FOR YOU!"

"Padfoot, come off it. You'll _finally_ be able to see what its like to be in your girlfriend's shoes."

"LITERALLY! BECAUSE I'LL BE IN THEM!"

"Padfoot, if you don't do this for me, I'll tell everyone you sleep with a doll," James warned, a malicious flicker in his eyes.

"It's a quidditch _action figure_," Sirius scowled.

"Padfoot, come on. It's a doll."

Sirius sighed, and walked over to James, glaring at him. "Give it to me. And this will _not_ be used for blackmail, do you understand me? In fact, I'll just write up a quick contract-"

James laughed. "Padfoot, its fine. No blackmail. I've got it. And Moony? Are you going to do it for me?"

Remus pouted in hopelessness. "Fine. God, I can't believe I'm doing this."

James grinned as he handed his friends the two glasses filled with polyjuice potion. Reluctantly, Sirius and Remus drank the entire contents of their glasses. For a minute, they stretched and bubbled uncontrollably. Then, suddenly, Sirius grew long, blonde hair, and Remus dark, curly hair. They both became considerably shorter, and received "girlish figures."

James grinned. "Right. Well, to finish up the look, you might want to put these on-" he gestured to two short skirts, and two pairs of high heeled shoes. "And you might want to put a little makeup on, you know, to really make Lily believe you," he finished, trying to suppress his laughter.

Sirius shook with anger. "PRONGS! _THAT_ IS WHERE I DRAW THE LINE! I am _not_ wearing a skirt!"

James smiled charmingly. "Well, you can't wear what you're wearing now, can you?" Both Sirius and Remus' clothes were now extremely large on them – Remus' tee shirt now reached to his elbows, and Sirius' pants were now dragging on the floor, in a puddle of fabric at his feet.

"PRONGS! I'm going to get you back for this!" Sirius growled, nervously eyeing the skirts, and the tiny polos James had just brought out. He and Remus quickly changed, and made their way out of the dormitory, James following in his invisibility cloak, shaking with laughter.

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Sirius and Remus quickly made their way down the Transfiguration corridor, searching for Lily. Finally they found her, just as James was turning the corner to meet them.

"Why hello there, girlfriend! Long time no see!" giggled Sirius in a high-pitched, stereotypical girly voice. Remus kicked him hard in the shins.

Lily looked at him strangely. "Erm, hi, Paige. Are you…okay? Everything alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine, sweetheart, just broke a nail is all," Sirius pouted.

Remus glared at him. "Paige isn't…er…feeling well today," he said. "You see, um, she and Sirius had a fight. Yeah, that's it."

"Oh, Paige, I'm so sorry! Are you two still together?" Lily asked in concern.

"Of course we are, hun! Sirius is the best snogger in the whole school! Not to mention he's incredibly hot, great at quidditch, wonderfully sculpted, a mischievous troublemaker-" Sirius listed.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, he is, Paige. I didn't know you liked him so much. Just the other day you were saying how disgusting he was when he eats," Lily said, glancing at Sirius suspiciously.

"I AM NOT!" Sirius shouted furiously. "Erm…I meant, I am not going to, um, talk about that right now."

"_Anyway_," Remus started, giving Sirius a significant look. "How's James, Lily?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Just wondering."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!" Sirius shouted in frustration, pounding his fist into the wall.

Lily stared at him in surprise. "_Paige!_ What has gotten into you? I don't know how James has been! I only talk to him-"

"every second of every day," muttered Sirius under his breath.

"-a few times a day," Lily continued, staring at Sirius suspiciously. "And anyway, why do you care if I've talked to James lately?"

"Excuse me, did you just call him _James_?" Sirius asked in astonishment. James' mouth had opened quite a few inches, his eyes bulging.

Lily sighed. "Paige, we've been through this! I only call him James in private, not to his face!"

"Right, sorry," said Remus, practically jumping with glee. "But tell us again – why the sudden use of his first name?"

"Do you like him, perhaps?" Sirius asked anxiously.

Lily groaned. "God, what has gotten into you two today?"

"Answer the question!" Sirius barked, doing what he called his "glee dance."

"Hurry, before Paige wets herself," Remus added, giving Sirius a disgusted look.

"FINE! He's really, _really, INCREDIBLY_ attractive, and he actually is a really nice guy. Happy now? That doesn't mean I like him, though, because I don't! Definitely not!"

Sirius smirked. "You like him."

"I DO NOT!" retorted Lily, blushing.

Sirius began to continue his "glee dance." "You like him. _YOU_ like him!"

"Shut up! I so don't!"

"SHE LIKES HIM SHE LIKES HIM!" Sirius shouted, grabbing Remus' hand and spinning him across the corridor.

"NO I DO NOT!"

"SHE LIKES HIM! HE LIKES HER! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Sirius chirped, taking advantage of his temporary feminine appearance.

"THEY'LL FINALLY BE HAPPEEEEEEEEEE!" Remus sang, deciding to stop resisting the urge to hop around in glee.

Lily glared at Sirius and Remus. "I DON'T LIKE HIM, OK? JUST BECAUSE HE'S HOT AND NICE DOESN'T MEAN I LIKE HIM!" she huffed, turning on her heel and walking away from Sirius and Remus angrily.

James quickly pulled off his invisibility cloak, and was immediately grabbed by the arms and spun around the corridor, bouncing up and down. James grinned, his glasses askew. Maybe he finally had a chance with Lily Evans.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Dear Journal,_

_Sorry I haven't written in a while. Things have been…_weird_, lately. Paige and Whitney just confronted me about liking JAMES. Can you believe that? They have gone absolutely insane. They're convinced that I like him. I don't even know how I feel about him, so how can they? It has all happened so quickly – one minute we're enemies, the next, we're the best of friends, maybe more? Impossible. Maybe I'm just coming down with something. That must be it. I am NOT falling for James Potter. That will NEVER happen. I can't believe how quickly this all came about – suddenly, all my feelings for James just…_changed_. I don't understand it at all. Is someone slipping love potion in my pumpkin juice? I wouldn't put it past Sirius…Oh God. James is coming into the common room. He's pushing back his glasses. He's messing up his hair. He just said hi to me. WHAT SHOULD I SAY? Oh my God! I'm such an idiot! ALL I SAID WAS, "HI"! HI! He's walking away, going into his room – WHY IS HE SMIRKING AT ME LIKE THAT? What the hell is wrong with him? OH MY GOD! WHAT IF HE KNOWS? Well, I'll just have to let him know somehow that I know he knows. But then what if he knows I know he knows already? I'm not even making sense!_

_AND WHAT, EXACTLY, AM I NERVOUS HE KNOWS ABOUT?_

_I have nothing to hide. I don't like James. What a stupid idea. I just need some sleep, and a hip flask. You never know nowadays. People could just slip some love potion in your pumpkin juice without you even noticing. That must be it. Love potion. Right. That's all it is._

_But wouldn't it wear off after a while?_

_OH MY GOD! HE JUST CAME BACK! _

_HE'S SITTING NEXT TO ME!_

_HE'S TALKING TO ME!_

_WHY DO I CARE?_

_James: What the hell are you writing in that thing? You look kind of…frantic._

_Me: nothing. Its, erm…homework._

_James: Oh really? It looks like a diary to me._

_Me: it is not._

_James: Is there stuff about me in it?_

_Me: No._

_James: So you admit that it's a diary._

_Me: DAMN IT, JAMES!_

_James: AHA! FIRST NAME USAGE! I believe that breaks our agreement that we would hate each other forever, Lily._

_Me: Well, you just called me by my first name, too._

_James: Only because you started it. Really, what ARE you writing in that thing of yours? ARE YOU WRITING OUR CONVERSATION DOWN?_

_Me: maybe. So?_

_James: It just makes me kind of…nervous. Did you write that down?_

_Me: maybe. Why do you care?_

_James: Why are you writing down this particular conversation, anyway? _

_Me: Because I feel like it._

_James: Very convincing, Lils._

_Me: Oh my God._

_James: What?_

_Me: Did you just call me _LILS

_James: NO!_

_Me: YOU DID, YOU LIAR! I HAVE IT WRITTEN DOWN IN THIS JOURNAL!_

_James: SO YOU ADMIT IT! It IS a journal, and you ARE writing down this conversation! Perhaps because of your undying love for me…_

_Me: Shut it._

_James: feisty._

_Me: that is repulsing._

_James: You know, my mum always told me, "Honey, if you want to know if a little girl likes you, all you have to do is notice the way she treats you. If she treats you nicely, you're on friendly terms. If she treats you horribly, she definitely likes you." Well, Lily, I do believe you are in love with me._

_Me: Oh my God. This is my worst nightmare._

_James: YOU LIKE ME! HA!_

_Me: Do you realize how childish you sound?_

_James: You know you love me that way._

_Me: Lord._

_James: Okay, okay, I'll talk about something other than your pure love for me. Er…you going to the quidditch game tomorrow?_

_Me: of course._

_James: to see me play fabulously, isn't that correct?_

_Me: JAMES!_

_James: I have to admit, I do like this First Name Basis thing. GOD, YOU'RE STILL WRITING IN THAT THING?_

_Me: Does it bother you THAT much?_

_James: Yes! (flinches awkwardly)_

_Me: Why? _

_James: HEY! I DID NOT FLINCH AWKWARDLY!_

_Me: WHY ARE YOU READING MY JOURNAL!_

_James: Because it has stuff about ME in there!_

_Me: That, James, is an invasion of PRIVACY!_

_James: Here we go._

_Me: A VIOLATION OF RESPECT! HAVE YOU NO INTEGRITY? HAVE YOU NO MORALS? IT'S AGAINST THE RULES, JAMES, AGAINST THE DAMN RULES!_

_James: done now?_

_Me: not quite. YOU COULD GET IN TROUBLE FOR THAT! DON'T YOU DARE READ MY JOURNAL AGAIN, JAMES!_

_James: Are you done NOW?_

_Me: yes._

_James: Thank God. That was worse than your prefects speech in the beginning of the year._

_Me: Hey, mister, you better be nice or I'll tell my mommy on you._

_James: Is this HUMOR coming from Lily Evans?_

_Me: shut up._

_James: Well it's been nice talking to you, Lily, but I've got pranks to pull. And save the speech, once is enough for tonight, thank you. And have fun scribbling away in that journal of yours. And just know – I have my ways into getting hold of that thing._

_Me: You wouldn't dare._

_James: Ahem. Lets review. That thing holds your darkest secrets. I want to KNOW your darkest secrets. So me plus journal equals happiness._

_Me: Don't touch my journal, James. If you do, its back to being called Potter for you!_

_James: What if you never NOTICE I read it? Then it's a win/win situation!_

_Me: NO IT ISN'T!_

_James: Ooooh! In fact, what if I've ALREADY read your journal?_

_Me: YOU HAVEN'T! Have you?_

_James: Hmm, yeah, not really in the mood for gossip right now, Lils. Maybe later. 'Night!_

_Me: JAMES! COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"_

_(James leaves common room smirking. Stupid smirk.)_

_I'd better go to bed now. What the HELL IS HAPPENING HERE? I need to get some sleep._

_Lily Evans._


	27. The 'Hey' Smirk

"This is _the_ match, everyone. The match that will decide who goes on to play for the quidditch cup. Slytherin versus Gryffindor," announced Dean Collins, a seventh-year Gryffindor. "Of course, we all know who is going to win-"

"DEAN COLLINS!" shrieked Professor McGonagall. "We do not want to hear your personal opinions!"

"_Sorry_, professor! Alright, back to the game then? There's Potter coming out onto the field, followed by Black. If you'll look up into the stands you'll see many signs made by the ladies to express their love for Potter and Black. Look there! PLEA, formerly known as 'Potter's Loyal Emphatic Adorers' has teamed up with JALWNBAC, known as 'James and Lily Will Never Be A Couple,' to create a huge banner. What does it say? Ah, yes. I should have known. It says, 'Touch James And Die.' Nice, ladies, nice-"

Lily hurriedly walked up the stands with Paige and Whitney, looking for a place to sit. She finally found a spot near Remus and Peter. She quickly scanned the quidditch pitch, looking for James. At last, she found him and caught his eye. They smiled at each other for a brief moment, Lily mouthing 'good luck' to James. James grinned, not wanting to break eye contact with Lily. Soon Sirius was tugging on his shirt, signifying that the game was about to begin. James winked at Lily, and waved, before turning around and mounting his broom.

Whitney eyed Lily curiously. "What's going on with you and James, Lily?" She asked suspiciously.

Lily blushed as Paige, Remus, and Peter turned to look at her. "Nothing. Honest. Why do you think that something is going on?"

Remus raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Because there _is_ something going on."

Lily's eyes widened. "No there's _NOT! _Whatever gave you _that_ idea?"

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe it was the staring. Or the blushing. Or the giggling. Or the waving and note writing," Paige grinned.

Lily scowled. "What _are_ you talking about? Let's just watch the match, alright?"

Peter, Remus, Whitney, and Paige turned to the pitch with expressions of triumph on their faces. Lily pouted and crossed her shoulders, purposely avoiding staring at James.

"Alright. Hooch just about to blow the whistle…and they're off! Potter passes to Jacobs, who passes to Muller. Muller is flying off towards the Slytherin goalposts – SCORES! 10-0 for Gryffindor!" Dean announced over the cheers of the anxious Gryffindors. "Smith in possession of the quaffle. He passes to Malfoy who passes Thornton. Thornton makes his way to the Gryffindor goalposts – NICE SAVE BY SIRIUS BLACK! I say, I've always liked him. Nice fellow, really he is. Very misunderstood-"

"DEAN! BACK TO THE GAME!"

"Sorry, professor! _Honestly_. Potter back in possession of the quaffle. He passes to Jacobs again. Jacobs shoots – saved by Goyle. Wood and MacNair searching for the snitch…Muller's got the quaffle. He passes to Potter, who – POTTER SCORES! 20-0 FOR GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily applauded and cheered loudly, jumping up and down. She caught James' eye and grinned. James gave her an amused look, sparks of curiosity in his eyes. He waved at her, smiling, then turned back to the game, very aware of the strange looks his teammates were giving him. _WHAT is going on with Potter and Evans?_ They thought. _They're not supposed to wave and smile at one another!_

"Malfoy's got the quaffle. Passes to Thornton. Thornton shoots – DAMN IT! 20-10, Gryffindor in the lead. Muller passes to Jacobs. Jacobs is speeding off towards the Slytherin goalposts…SHIT! Interception by Malfoy. Malfoy passes to Smith. Smith passes to Thornton…OOH! Nice bludger work by Prewitt from Gryffindor! Potter's in possession now. He swerves under Malfoy, dodges Thornton, and BLOODY HELL! He did a 360 past Smith! A bit of a show off, aren't you, Potter? Still wickedly awesome though, mate. He shoots off towards the slytherin goalposts, shoots, SCORES! 30-10 FOR GRYFFINDOR!"

James looked over at Lily again, catching her staring at him. To his amusement, she quickly looked away, blushing, biting her lip. He smiled and headed back into the game.

"Smith passes to Thornton, who passes to Malfoy- WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, MALFOY? THAT'S CHEATING, DAMN IT, CHEATING! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, EH? YOU LITTLE-"

"DEAN! Not another word!" exclaimed McGonagall.

"Right," Dean said, clearing his throat, his teeth still clenched. "After that horrible act of cheating that was NEVER CALLED, its 30-20, Gryffindor in the lead. Wood and Macnair still searching for the snitch. Jacobs passes to Potter. Potter zooms off towards the Slytherin goalposts. He shoots – MY GOD! CRABBE, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, HUH? HAVE YOU NO PRIDE, MAN? HAVE YOU NO _MORALS?_ What was that, Crabbe? _Did you just say you didn't do anything?_ DID YOU? That's it. Someone go kick his ass. Right now. WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I'M MAKING A BIG DEAL OUT OF NOTHING? You're going to wish you never said that! You nearly knocked Potter off his broom with that bludger work! STOP SMIRKING, IDIOT, THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING! Oh Lord. There they go. PLEA and JALWNBAC are trooping onto the field, wands at the ready. I guess they were serious about that sign, eh? Potter is trying to fend them off, flying in protective circles around Crabbe. Nice man, that Potter. Always does the right thing, and he is _quite_ entertaining – MY GOD! THEY'VE ATTACKED CRABBE! BLOODY HELL! Potter is looking quite pale – I'll bet this isn't how he wanted the game to go, eh? OH MY GOD! MORE GIRLS ARE FLOODING ONTO THE FIELD! THEY'RE BECOMING A MOB! SOMEONE DO SOMETHING, QUICK! PROFESSOR AREN'T YOU GOING TO DO SOME – POTTER! NO! DON'T DO IT! He's flying headfirst into the mob! YOU'RE NOT COMING OUT ALIVE, MAN, DON'T DO IT! Oh. I get it now. Nice idea, Potter. Smart guy, he is. Always helped me with DADA…well, Potter scared them off. They ran back onto the stands when they saw him flying at them…you'd think it would have had the opposite effect…anyway, the game continues, Flint entering the game substituting as Crabbe, seeing as the scary fangirls turned him into a half camel, half moose…erm…_thing_. Potter seems quite alright. Malfoy has the quaffle. He passes to Smith, who – SHIT! 30-30! Oh, wait – Potter's got the quaffle. He's got that scary, defiant look in his eye, you know, the one he always has when he's about to do a prank – he shoots – SCORES, THANK GOD! 40-30 FOR GRYFFINDOR! Potter is on a roll today, eh? Smith's got the quaffle, passes to Thornton – NICE SAVE BY BLACK! Malfoy's got the quaffle again, that greedy git. He's speeding off towards the goalposts – NICE BLUDGER WORK BY PREWITT! Very nice, Prewitt, I applaud you-"

"DEAN!"

"_God, _professor, you didn't have to hit me on the head, did you? I'm going to have to report you to Dumbledore, now-"

"SHUT UP AND GET BACK TO THE GAME ALREADY!"

"I have an announcement for the male members of the faculty. Anyone willing to take McG out on a date? Because she _desperately_ needs a boyfriend-"

"DEAN!"

"Ok, _that's it. _Now I HAVE to report you to Dumbledore. Two slaps on the head in the span of two minutes? That's abuse, professor-"

"GET ON WITH THE GAME!"

"Lord, is this job complicated. Okay, Muller's got the quaffle. Passes to Jacobs. Passes to Potter, who passes back to Muller. What is with all the passing, guys? Trying to be gentlemen, are you? Muller passes back to Jacobs. He shoots – SCORES! 50-30 FOR GRYFFINDOR! Thornton in possession of the quaffle. He tears of towards the Gryffindor goalposts – WAIT! WAIT FOR IT! I do believe – YES! WOOD HAS CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS AND GOES ON TO THE FINAL MATCH!"

Lily ran onto the quidditch pitch ecstatically, Paige, Whitney, Paige, and Remus following eagerly to greet James and Sirius. Upon seeing Sirius, Paige immediately lept towards him. They started snogging passionately, causing an awkward moment between the rest. Remus, Whitney, and Peter congratulated James enthusiastically.

Lily cleared her throat and walked closer to James, grinning. "Great job, James. You scored most of Gryffindor's goals. I guess you really _are_ a good quidditch player," she said teasingly.

"Thanks, Lily. I'm glad you've finally seen that about me," James said just as jokingly, beaming down at Lily.

They stared at each other, hovering awkwardly, each not knowing what to do in the predicament. Then, suddenly, Lily stuck out her hand to James, blushing. Surprised, James shook her hand amusedly. They both stared at their hands joined together and tried to ignore the tingling sensation they had gotten.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Dear Journal,_

_Its official. I am a complete idiot. Now EVERYONE KNOWS. Because all I did was SHAKE HIS HAND. I could have, you know, hugged him, or something! But NO! I had to SHAKE HIS HAND!_

_Wait. Now everyone knows WHAT?_

_There is NOTHING TO KNOW! NOTHING! I HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE!_

_Oh Lord. He's coming into the common room. He's going to see me writing in this damn journal again. And I'll look like a total freak._

_BUT I DON'T CARE WHAT HE THINKS, SO WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?_

_I just need to calm down. I must be getting influenza or something – that's what is making me so…strange._

_YAY! HE'S SITTING NEXT TO ME!_

_WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT, YAY? WHY AM I HAPPY ABOUT THIS?_

_Oh my God. He just did that cute thing with his hair – you know, how he always messes it up. God, I love his hair._

_NO I DON'T, NO I DON'T!_

_But look at him! He is SO CUTE!_

_NO HE IS NOT!_

_Oh my God. He did the hair thing again. I'm melting…_

_No, I'm not. I must remain calm and collective. Because I do NOT like James Potter. No way. No, I do not. James Potter plus Me equals NEVER._

_Right._

_Then why am I getting this fluttery sensation?_

_Ah! He's staring at me! And SMIRKING! OH MY GOD! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?_

_He probably thinks I am such a freak for writing in a journal. That's what the smirk is for. I don't blame him, actually._

_Or maybe it is a good smirk? Like a "hey, how YOU doin?" kind of smirk? _

_Is it a hey smirk or a freak smirk? HOW DO YOU TELL THEM APART?_

_OH MY GOD HE JUST TALKED TO ME! EEEEEEE!_

_Why am I so happy?_

_James: Hey. (!)_

_Me: hey._

_James: erm…how are things?_

_Me: Things are fine. How're your things? OH MY GOD. I MEAN – how are YOU doing?_

_James: (laughing, raising eyebrow at me) I'm OK. It's great we're going to the final quidditch match._

_Me: Oh. Yeah. That. Yeah, um, good job today. You were really…erm…good._

_James: thanks._

_Me: yeah._

_James: er…_

_Me: um…_

_James: So._

_Me: So. How is your Charms essay coming? You know, the one we bet on?_

_James: Better than yours is going, I assure you._

_Me: Please. You are so going to lose._

_James: I don't think so. I AM Head Boy, you know._

_Me: Well, I'm Head Girl!_

_James: Boys are smarter than girls. (sticks tongue out teasingly)_

_Me: (giggles). Oh, my God, James. Going back to second grade, are we?_

_James: (edges away from me) YOU HAVE COOTIES!_

_Me: (laughing)_

_James: (coming back, closer than before)_

_Me: (clears throat uncomfortably)_

_James: You're STILL writing in that damn journal of yours?_

_Me: um, yes. Maybe._

_James: And you're writing down this conversation, aren't you?_

_Me: maybe._

_James: Well, it sounds to me like you're starting to fall for me, Ms. Evans._

_Me: please. Don't flatter yourself._

_James: I'm not stupid, you know. I can put it all together._

_Me: Put WHAT all together?_

_James: the staring, the blushing, the first name usage, the HAND SHAKE._

_Me: OH MY GOD._

_James: AHA!_

_Me: er…what?_

_James: YOU DO LIKE ME! AHA!_

_Me: You say 'aha' too much._

_James: don't try to change the subject._

_Me: I wasn't. Because there is no subject to change._

_James: Oh yes, there is. YOU like me!_

_Me: I DO NOT!_

_James: You so do._

_Me: I do not._

_James: You do not_

_Me: I so do – HEY!_

_James: HA!_

_Me: Oh my God. That doesn't count. You tricked me!_

_James: But it is TRUE, isn't it? (pounds fist on table, smirking. Nice smirk.)_

_Me: NO!_

_James: okay, okay. So you don't like me._

_Me: thank you._

_James: So if you don't like me, why are you writing down all of our conversations?_

_Me: because…because they're entertaining._

_James: ok then._

_Me: (biting lip, resisting urge to tell him he looks SO cute when he's smirking and ruffling his hair)_

_James: er…_

_Me: um…_

_James: well this is awkward._

_Me: how 'bout those Chudley Cannons? (joking)_

_James: (surprised) you know the Chudley Cannons?_

_Me: er…well…no. I was just…um, joking. That was what you said earlier this year, you know, on the train?_

_James: (smirking) You remember everything I've said, don't you?_

_Me: NO!_

_James: okay okay. Just teasing. You are terribly fun to tease, you know that?_

_Me: Is that a good thing or a bad thing?_

_James: A good thing. A very good thing. (EEEEEEEE! WAIT! WHY AM I EEEEEE-ING?)_

_Me: Oh. Well, thanks._

_James: sure. (smiles and looks into my eyes)_

_Me: (blushing awkwardly) um. Right. Well, I should go to bed now. Erm…stuff to do in the morning. Important stuff. Stuff I need to sleep in for. Right. Okay then. 'Night!_

_James: (amused) er…k. Good night._

_I AM **SUCH** AN IDIOT!_

_Wait, no I'm not._

_Because I don't care what James thinks._

_Because I don't like him._

_No, I don't._

_I do NOT LIKE JAMES POTTER._

_Right._


	28. The Lady In Dragon Hide

**Lily?**

What?

**McGonagall told me Dumbledore wants to see us in his office soon as possible.**

DAMN IT! What does he want to see us for?

**My God. Little Lily Evans just swore.**

Shut up. I'm not a goody-two-shoes.

**Really?**

Yes.

**How so?**

I swear.

**Not swearing does not define a goody-two-shoes**

Erm…ok…I…er…well…

**Out with it.**

I don't always get good grades.

**Oh REALLY?**

Shut up. I don't like admitting it.

**And just what class are you failing, Miss Lily?**

Er…Ancient Runes.

**I'm happy to help you. You know, like a tutor, or something.**

Oh. Ok. Thanks, James.

**Right. Well, shall we go to Dumbledore's office before lunch?**

I suppose so. But what does he want to see us for? We just had a Head meeting with him.

**I dunno what it's for! I'm not a Seer, I'm failing divination.**

YOU ARE NOT!

**Er…yes, I am, actually.**

My god, James! All you have to do is make up things!

**Wow. Little Lily Evans LIES TOO!**

Come off it.

**Any other things you'd like to tell me, Lily? You might want to clear your conscience…**

What do you think I have to tell?

**Er…**

I'm not hiding anything. No, no I'm not. I'm a completely honest person. When I have feelings for someone, I tell them.

**Ok…**

OH MY GOD! MCGONAGALL'S COMING! SHE'S SPOTTED US!

**You are SO inexperienced.**

…………

Wow. You handled that really well.

**The art of Flattery, my dear Lily.**

She actually BOUGHT IT. The, "oh, we were just comparing notes on your wonderful lecture," crap.

**They don't call us the marauders for nothing.**

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

James and Lily cautiously entered Dumbledore's office. At once, Dumbledore turned towards them and gestured at the chairs across from his desk. They quickly took a seat, nervously glancing around the room.

"Well, lets get straight down to it, then," Dumbledore chirped. "Your little Ministry…er…_escapade_ was covered by the _Daily Prophet_, as I believe you saw. Well, I'm afraid they are quite determined to get an interview with you two. I tried to fend them off but it was to no avail. Miss Skeeter tends to get what she wants. So, alas, you must meet her in the entrance hall this afternoon after your last class."

James swore under his breath as he angrily grabbed Lily's arm and led her out of Dumbledore's office, her blushing all the while.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Er…James? Why are you so angry about this interview? I mean, its just an interview, I'm sure this Skeeter woman is very nice indeed…"

"Lily. God, you are so naïve. Rita Skeeter twists your words around. She always makes you seem like you are completely different from what you really are."

"Oh…" Lily trailed off cluelessly as they turned the corner. Lily gasped as she took in the sight of the strange woman. Rita Skeeter was in a bright yellow dress robe, her long fingernails clicking against her bag as she tapped her foot and sighed. Suddenly, she spotted them. Lily gulped nervously.

"Oh _hello_, children!" Rita announced boisterously. "_Wherever_ have you been? I've been waiting for you!" She sang in a false, sugary voice one would use with a baby.

James grimaced. "Sorry to keep you," he said politely, "but we were in classes-"

"Oh come now, no excuses. Shall we go in here and start, then?" Rita cooed, opening a door and gesturing for them to enter.

"Er…Miss Skeeter, that's a storage cupboard," Lily said, giving Rita an odd look.

"In with you now, darling. No time for small talk." Rita shoved a scowling Lily through the door. James, glancing nervously at Rita, hurried through the door himself. Rita entered behind them and sealed the door with her wand.

"Well. You two don't mind if I use a Quick-Quotes Quill, do you?" Rita asked them merrily, brandishing a green quill.

Lily stared at her indignantly. "We bloody well do! Those things twist your words around! What do you think you're doi-"

"Oh, large temper, hasn't she, James?" Rita asked delightfully. "First off, how old are the both of you?"

"Seventeen," James responded, giving Lily a shocked gaze.

"Right, fifteen. Now, why did you two decide to go to the ministry?"

"Voldemort killed my parents. I wanted to get revenge," Lily said, giving Rita a suspicious look.

"Well, wasn't _that_ a foolish thing to do!" Rita trilled. "Did you know then that you would most likely be blown to smithereens by the darkest wizard of all time?" she asked animatedly, as if this was a most casual thing to say.

"We _weren't_ going to get killed. We obviously survived, as we're standing right in front of you! Or are you going to lie about that too and say that we're ghosts haunting Hogwarts, or something?" Lily asked, giving Rita an insolent, determined stare.

"My, my," Rita said, a flash of anger in her eyes. "You're parents obviously never taught you to be polite. What about you, Potter? Were you scared when you entered the Ministry?"

"Well, er…sort of. I mean, who wouldn't when they're about to take on Voldemort?" He paused, craning his neck to see what the quill had written. "HEY! I was _not_ 'quivering in fear'! And yes, I do say his name, but not because _'_I'm boasting of overcoming him'!" He shouted indignantly.

"_Ignore the quill,_" Rita said, losing all false sweetness. "Shall we move on, then?" She asked, in her normal sickeningly sweet tone. "You two are in love, correct?"

Lily and James glanced at each other awkwardly, then looked away from each other, blushing.

Rita grinned maliciously. "Oh, it's true, then."

"No. No, we're not in love. We're just…erm…friends," Lily murmured awkwardly.

Rita ignored her. "Is it true, James, that you have pursued her since third year?"

"Er…yes."

"Was she quite cruel to you?"

"Well, er…yeah. But I don't blame her. I was quite cocky then," James said nervously, ruffling his hair.

"You don't have to stick up for her, James. I want you to _tell the truth_," Rita said in the reassuring tone one uses with a disobedient child. "What kind of things would she do to you?"

"EXCUSE ME! IS THIS REALLY NECESSARY?" Lily asked, glaring at Rita.

"Hush, dear, I'm trying to talk to your boyfriend," Rita said in a dismissive tone, gazing at James, who was shifting uncomfortably. "Go on, boy, what did she do?"

"Well…er…"

"Oh come on, out with it now!"

"She would…er…she would…smack my face sometimes. But, um, only when I deserved it. I was horribly immature back then. Er…would hex people for the fun of it, actually. That's when she would yell at me. So it was justified."

"Oooh, I see," Rita said interestedly. "So are you two dating now?"

"Er, well, no…" James said awkwardly, barely above a whisper.

"But we are very good _friends_," Lily added, putting a dramatic emphasis on the word 'friends.'

"And how do you feel about this, James?" Rita asked sympathetically.

"Er…I'm…fine with it?"

"Lily, are you in any way interested in James?"

"WHAT? NO!"

"That sounded like _denial_, darling!" Rita sang, smirking at the embarrassed look on Lily's face.

Lily glanced at the Quick-Quotes Quill flying across a piece of parchment. "I did _not_ admit that I am madly in love with James! This is _unbelievable!_"

"You two live in the same dormitory, do you not?" Rita asked, ignoring Lily's outburst.

"Well, yes we do. But we don't sleep in the same _room_ or anything…" James rambled.

"Of course not. But are there any…interesting stories?" Rita asked, her mouth curling into a malicious smile.

Lily blushed. "Well…er…there was one time…"

"Yes, dear?" Rita asked impatiently, looking at Lily as if she were her new best friend.

"Well, I accidentally walked in on James in the shower once. But, er, it was an accident."

"Of course it was, darling," Rita purred. "Have things…_heated up_ at all between you two since the incident at the ministry?"

"No. No. Not at all," Lily said quickly, averting her eyes from Rita.

"Right," Rita continued skeptically. "Now, you were about to die for Lily, is that correct, James?"

"Um, yes," he said nervously.

"Has she thanked you?"

"Yes."

"What did you think about in that minute you were about to die?"

"Er…I dunno, I don't really remember. Er…quidditch, I suppose."

"_Quidditch?"_ Rita asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure, Potter? You were not thinking of the undying love you have for Evans?"

"Um…no," James muttered, shifting about uneasily.

"You are one of the infamous marauders, correct?" Rita asked, moving on to a new topic.

"Yes," James grinned, regaining his pride, puffing out his chest.

"And you are quite popular amongst the girls?"

"Quite right," James agreed, puffing his chest out even farther. Lily rolled her eyes, suppressing a laugh.

"Is it true that one night in October a crowd of…er…_fangirls_ ran after you and your friends?"

"Yes."

"Was Lily one of those girls?"

"LILY? HELL NO!" James cried out of surprise. "She wouldn't be caught dead belonging to one of my _many_ fanclubs."

"Quite right," Lily nodded.

"Didn't you have a boyfriend, Lily?" Rita asked interestedly.

"Er…well, yes…" Lily said, flustered.

"And it didn't work out?"

"Well, no…"

"Why not?"

"Er…erm…well-"

"It was a mutual thing," James said quickly. "They decided to just be friends." Lily shot him an appreciative look. "Look, isn't this supposed to be about what happened at the Ministry, and not our love lives?" James asked angrily.

"Right. Of course, how _did_ I get so off course?" Rita laughed merrily, flashing a toothy grin. "Well I think I've got all I need anyway, so why don't you two run along and play?" James and Lily raised their eyebrows at each other. "Thank you _ever_ so much for meeting with me!" Rita smiled, shaking each of their hands. "If you're lucky, this just might make the front page!"

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James and Lily wandered about Hogwarts castle on their rounds, each staring at the other, neither talking.

Suddenly, James cleared his throat. "So…that was awkward."

"What was?"

"The whole Skeeter thing."

"Oh. Right. Yeah, it was. I can't believe that woman! She is just so, so…_audacious! _I really don't think I like her! She just _forces _things out of you!" Lily cried in fury.

James laughed. "I warned you, you know."

"I know. It's just…I wasn't prepared for _that_."

"Ah, I know. Its like aurors are interviewing you as a suspect for murder."

"You've done interviews before?" Lily asked interestedly.

"Oh, a few, but not important ones. They were merely interviews with my fan clubs for their stupid newsletters," James grinned.

"Ah, yes. Your fan clubs. Must be flattering to have people devote all their spare time to you," Lily remarked.

"Well, actually, it's very startling. I don't like having to hide out behind tapestries between classes."

"Oh," Lily said, nodding. "Oh. Well, I suppose you're right. I mean, I wouldn't know-"

James snorted.

"What?" Lily asked, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.

"You have fan clubs too, Lily."

"I do?" she asked, genuinely astonished.

"Well, not fan clubs _per se_," James admitted. "Men aren't too big on fan clubs. But you certainly have a lot of admirers."

"I do?" Lily repeated, still surprised.

"Oh yes. Loads of them. They glare at me whenever I come near you." James grinned at the expression of satisfaction on Lily's face.

"Do they really?" Lily smirked. James laughed and they walked on in silence for a while, each staring at the other periodically.

"Er…Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to Hogsmeade with anyone?" James asked casually.

_Oh no,_ Lily thought. _Here it comes. He's going to ask me out. He is going to ruin everything! I haven't even sorted things out with myself yet! I'm not even really sure I have feelings for him! And now he's asking me out! WHY?_

"Er…not yet, no. And you, James?" She asked nervously.

"I don't have any plans yet, either," he said, and left it at that.

Lily stopped walking in alarm. _He didn't ask me out. HE DIDN'T ASK ME OUT. So does he not like me anymore? Did he just…forget? WHAT IS GOING ON?_

James suddenly turned around. "Er…alright, Lily?" he asked concernedly.

She looked up at him, looking surprised she was not alone. "What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine, thanks," she said awkwardly, running to catch up with him.

She took a deep breath, and edged closer to him. He raised his eyebrows but said nothing. They walked in silence for the remainder of the night, each surreptitiously edging a bit closer to the other when they got the chance. By the time they reached their dormitory, their arms were touching the other's, and they were out of breath and flushed, although they were only walking.

Lily turned to face James, inches away from his face. She closed her eyes and sighed, breathing in his scent. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and moved her head slightly away from James'.

"Right," she said awkwardly, as James was watching her amusedly. "Well, see you in the morning, then."

"See you in the morning, Lily," James replied, watching Lily walk inside the dormitory with intense interest.


	29. Salamander Tails

"_Bloody hell!_" Sirius shouted in surprise. "You didn't ask her out?"

James lowered his head in shame. "No, I didn't. I didn't want to ruin what we already have and have to start all over again."

"How did she react, Prongs?" Remus asked seriously, popping a chocolate frog into his mouth as he flew back onto his bed.

James smirked. "Well, I have to say she was pretty shocked. She just stood there for a bit, her mouth wide open, her eyes wide. It was quite satisfying."

Remus smiled eagerly. "So she didn't look relieved? She looked surprised? Did she look a bit…sad?"

James squinted his eyes in thought. "Well…her head was cocked to one side as if she didn't really understand what was happening…and she kind of looked panicked…"

"'Course she did, Prongsie. It's you, damn it! I told you no woman could resist you!" Sirius boomed, beaming with pride.

James gave an awkward smile as Sirius messed up his hair with a fatherly sort of pride. "God, it was hard," he said, thinking of the look on Lily's face.

"What was, Prongs?" Peter asked in confusion.

"Not asking her out. It was really, really hard."

Remus gave his friend a sympathetic smile. "I'll bet it was, Prongs. But you just wait – because you did that, she's probably going to realize the feelings she has for you."

"I hope she realizes her feelings quickly," James frowned, "Because I don't know how much longer I can do this."

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_So he didn't even ask you out?_

No, he didn't! What does it mean?

**Um, why do you care what it means? I thought you didn't like James.**

I don't. But I still want to know what it means!

_Ok then. Well, it COULD mean any of the following:_

_1. He's over you_

_2. He is too nervous to bring it up now that the two of you are friends_

_3. He doesn't want to ruin what you already have_

_4. He thinks you're going to kill him if he even mentions it_

_5. All of the above._

Do you really think he doesn't like me anymore?

**It is completely possible.**

_How has he been acting with you, lately?_

Er…same as always, besides the asking out thing. Like, teasing me all the time…he totally stuck up for me with Skeeter…oh, and then there's what happened during rounds last night…

**WHAT HAPPENED?**

You two cannot tell a SOUL.

_Got it. Now go on._

Well, I kind of…edged closer to him. And then he edged closer to me…and it went on like that all night.

_You started the edging?_

Well, yes, but he didn't back away or anything.

**No man in their right mind WOULD, Lily. You're gorgeous.**

No I'm not. But that's not the point. Is edging a good or bad thing?

_Definitely a good thing. It means he returns the feelings you have for him._

Um, I don't HAVE feelings for him to return.

**But YOU started the edging.**

_That can only mean one thing…_

**You like James.**

Oh God.

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James Potter quickly entered the Head's Common Room, then stopped in his tracks. Lily Evans was lying on the couch, reading. He knew he shouldn't be so surprised that she was there, because she _was_ Head Girl, but he still couldn't get over his surprise every time he saw Lily in the Common Room – in the _same room_ as him.

He cautiously made his way over to Lily, and sat on the couch directly across from her. She looked up and gasped, surprised he was there. She quickly recovered.

"Hi, James."

"Hi."

James could have kicked himself. _Hi? HI? THAT'S ALL YOU COULD THINK OF?_

"Er…do you have a lot of homework to do?" Lily asked, trying to be casual.

"Yeah. And I'm assuming _you_ did all your homework already?" James grinned.

"Well, naturally," Lily said, not aware that James was teasing her.

James laughed, making Lily rigid with self-consciousness. He pulled out a piece of parchment from his backpack, along with a potions book. They sat in silence for a while, Lily reading and James doing his potions essay.

Suddenly, James looked up. "Er…Lily?"

Lily jumped, startled. "What? What's happened?"

James laughed. "Nothing. I just wanted to know something for the potions essay. Do the newt's eyes or the salamander tails turn the potion yellow?"

Lily scrunched up her face in thought. "Um…I think the salamander tails."

"Ok, thanks," James said, going back to his essay.

They sat in silence once more, Lily staring at the fire and James scrawling frantically at his essay. Lily turned to stare at James, cocking her head and biting her lip softly. He looked up at her, smiled, and returned to his essay. Lily continued to stare at James, watching his every move, causing him to flinch uncomfortably. Soon James was done with his essay. He dropped his quill onto the table and turned to gaze at Lily. They grinned as they looked into each other's eyes – James into Lily's deep pool of emeralds, full of innocence, Lily into James' dark eyes full of mischief and determination. Suddenly, Lily reached across to James and grabbed his hand, blushing. For an infinitesimal second, his eyes widened and his body stiffened. Then, his eyes softened and he relaxed, squeezing Lily's hand affectionately. They sat like this for at least forty-five minutes, gazing at the other awkwardly. Then, James quickly glanced at the clock and groaned.

"Quidditch practice. Mandatory. Course it just _had_ to be tonight," he grumbled, swearing under his breath. He gave an apologetic look to Lily, who nodded her head in understanding. James squeezed Lily's hand apologetically, looking at it sadly. He groaned, and pulled himself up, not letting go of Lily's hand until the last second. James slowly moved to the door, cursing each member of the team in turn. Lily laughed and ran up to him, grabbing his hand so he would stop walking. She quickly kissed his cheek, blushing. James' eyes widened, and he laughed goofily, as if in a daze, as he strutted out of the dormitory.

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Lily giggled as she turned around and curled up on the couch. She picked up her journal and started scribbling giddily.

_I cannot believe what's just happened. It all happened so SUDDENLY. I had no idea I had it in me! Well, okay, maybe I DID know I had it in me, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. But still, it was quite a shock, especially to James, I suppose. I finally broke the barrier of physical and emotional tension between us._

_And the scary thing is, it was FUN. It was FUN holding James' hand and staring into his eyes. It was FUN to kiss him on the cheek. It was FUN to watch him curse every member of the quidditch team in turn because he had to leave me to go to practice._

_And I can't wait to do all of that again._

_Paige and Whitney are right. It's always been there, even when I slapped him and told him he was a toerag. Even when I yelled at him for constantly asking me out, I secretly enjoyed it. It's time that I finally admit it to myself._

_I love James Potter._

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James happily strode into the head common room, whistling merrily. He collapsed onto one of the couches and searched the room for Lily. _She must have gone into her bedroom already, _he thought. Suddenly, a small blue book caught his eye. It was lying on one of the couches, open to a page with a quill carelessly placed on top of it. He walked over to it curiously for a better look. His eyes widened in surprise. It was Lily's journal.

_CRAP! Now what do I do? Do I just leave it here and not read it? _He thought, _Or should I return it to her, telling her I never read it? But she's not even here! I could just, you know, read a tiny bit of it, to see what she's been up to. Not that I care. It would just be…er…informational. Like, what if she is battling with huge depression issues and no one knows? And she writes about it in this journal thing? Then, if I read it, I can help her! So really, my reading her journal will be a heroic thing to do. Right._

He quickly looked round the common room to make sure it was empty. James cautiously picked up the journal and scanned the page that was already open, his eyes widening in shock at the end:

"_It's time that I finally admit it to myself. I love James Potter._"

He quickly placed the journal back down on the couch, grinning madly. He ran to his bedroom, locked the door, and shouted with glee, jumping up and down on his mattress. He had finally gotten Lily Evans.


End file.
